Creative Corner

Prologue.

---

Sailfin Bay was the place to be. In a world that was vastly controlled by one hand of power in the Central of Scyria, to have a paradise that had few laws, listened to none but its own - what a treasure that was to find. The beautiful bay was one of a kind, not only for its attitude towards the controlling Central and the dragons that lived there, but for its unique landscape.

If the bay and its community wanted nothing to do with the Central, they had to find a way to profit, and the answer to that was apparent, because the bay sat under a massive mountain, housing a portal to a strange and curious place known only as the “Otherworld”. It had been revealed only decades ago, when an accidental mining explosion cracked part of the mountain to reveal a mysterious and magical portal, nestled into the rock. No one knew where it came from, or how long it had been there, but the community of pirates there decided to make full use of a powerful artifact such as that. They carefully blew open one face of the mountain, to open the portal in full, and they sent dragons beyond it.

What they found on the other side was a stunning, confusing realm, where existence was nothing like what they knew on Scyria. Time was different, existence was different, and nothing seemed real. The first dragons that crossed over got swept away in the currents of the Otherworld, and never came back.

But what was Sailfin Bay to do? The portal was open, and by the Consoleglitch they were going to use it. So, they sent more dragons across, with prototype machines to navigate the strong currents beyond the portal. They kept working on new machines, training dragons to withstand and handle the dangers of the Otherworld, and almost a decade later, they got it right. With a working plan in motion, Sailfin Bay truly began to flourish on its own as an independent community, with nothing to do with the Central or anyone else.

The community on the bay eventually turned to piracy for its normal dragons to make money, while specialist dragons were trained to cross the portal. The latter was a group known as “Scavengers”, and they were the absolute best of the best. The Scavengers kept to crossing to the Otherworld to mine rare materials and artifacts, but the piracy of the rest of the community eventually brought Sailfin Bay negative attention from the Central as news of raided Central and merchant ships came in. Still, the Central had more to think of, so they let Sailfin Bay slip under the radar.

That was, until recently. As Central Commander Crisis finally got more important things out of the way, he turned his attention to cutting down piracy on Scyrian waters, sending out fleets to divert pirate ships and arrest pirates on board. This wasn’t the only bad thing going for Sailfin Bay, as Scavenger ships started to come back from the Otherworld with sails torn, hulls destroyed, rudders ripped apart, and crew members injured.

Here, right now, Sailfin Bay was stuck between a portal and a hard, hard place.

Chapter 1.

---

The Scavenger ship came back. The massive ship with black sails and a black hull that identified it as a Scavenger ship pulled through the massive portal embedded in the mountain, pushing water around the bay a little higher. Dragons from all around the bay began to get a little more active, gathering around the lake and on the docks. A massive rope was thrown down from the ship, and a burly Snapper grabbed the loop, tying it around a tree-stump post to anchor the ship.

The ship was damaged. By this point, damaged ships were expected each time, but the damage had gotten so bad that the accompanying airship did not pull through the portal, while the Scavenger ship looked particularly crowded this time. The ship’s black sails were barely intact, the front sail ripped completely in half while the back sails had massive tears in them. The hull had severe scratches in them, parts of it ripped out, while the ships rudder was barely there at all. The paint on the side of the ship that read Lockjaw 17 was scratched off. Dragons on the bay gasped as they saw the damage of the ship, and it was certain that Lockjaw Unit 17 was out of commission.

“Coming through,” A voice growled, as a red-winged Imperial parted the crowd gathering at the dock, looking up at the ship. A team of dragons dressed in white followed him, as dragons aboard the ship began to move. The Imperial launched himself off the dock, flying up to the ship, and was immediately dismayed to see the number of injured dragons on board. “Status?” He asked.

A blue Skydancer splotched with red came up. The doctor looked at the red stains on her blue feathers questioningly, and she looked down at herself too. “Oh, this is not my blood. I’m alright, Doctor Red.” When Red’s face relaxed, she continued. “Almost everyone was injured, including all of the Voyager Airship 7’s crew. The whole airship went down, and we had to get them onto our ship. Two of Voyager 7’s crew were lost to the Otherworld currents,” the Skydancer sighed, frowning. “We have 16 injured dragons on board, including Admiral Lucius. I think he’s got the worst of it.”

The Skydancer glanced behind her as Red’s team of medics got to work, working with the on-board medics tagged with every Scavenger crew. A pair of medics were crouched by a blood-covered Bogsneak, working their magic on the unconscious dragon. When she looked back, she just shook her head. “The Otherworld is alive, and it’s angry. I don’t know how many dragons we have to lose before we decide to shut off the portal.”

Red shrugged. “It’s not my decision. Thanks for the information.” He passed the Skydancer, leaving her to fly off the ship and report to other Scavenger units in the bay, while Red went to help his team in getting injured dragons over to his office.

The Skydancer was no Captain or Admiral, or even a First Mate, but she was one of the few dragons who wasn’t hurt too badly, so she found herself knocking on the door of the break room of the highest-ranking Scavengers. Beyond the door was a luxurious break room, where Captains and Admirals of the different Scavenger and Voyager ships relaxed before going through the portal. When the door opened, the Skydancer allowed herself in.

The break room was not very full, and the Skydancer found herself looking at two Admirals and one Captain. The first was Admiral Zagan of Howling Raider 11, a fierce and ruthless Imperial. Zagan’s wings were torn, his left side only at the edges and his right side pretty majorly, making him a poor flier, so he found his calling at sea instead. He often took his frustration about his inability to fly out at sea and sometimes against his crew, so Howling Raider 11 had the smallest crew, and also the toughest who could take Zagan’s harsh words.

Then there was Admiral Dygonia, head of the Sparrow 20. Dygonia was a beautiful Pearlcatcher, sometimes questioned whether or not she was a proficient pirate because she looked like the kind of dragon who had everything in life handed to her on a silver platter. These questions were often asked by dragons of other ships, and many rumours of Dygonia floated around. Her crew were also elusive, and many mysteries surrounded her, her crew, and the Sparrow, but she had many successful raids in the Otherworld, which was enough to make everyone typically ignore the rest of the strange rumours about her.

The last figure in the room was Captain Atwell, of Voyager Airship 12. Unlike the two Admirals in the room who led Scavenger ships, Captains were the heads of companion airships which followed Scavenger ships into the Otherworld and provided supporting fire, and handled most of the scouting and navigation. Often times, the Voyager would go first and the Scavenger ships would follow behind. Atwell was proud of his crew, and the Voyager 12 was regarded as one of the best, sent deeper and deeper into the unknown world.

The three of them looked up at the new individual in the room. Dygonia was filing her claws, Zagan glaring at the Skydancer from behind a mug full of rum distilled by the bay themselves, and Atwell sorting through some pictures. Atwell and Dygonia were sitting close to each other, while Zagan kept his distance. “Yes?” Atwell asked, pausing in his sorting to look up.

The Skydancer shifted her feet, looking down at the ground of the dim room. She didn’t know how to share the news of Admiral Lucius and the destroyed Lockjaw, since Atwell was close to Lucius, and Dygonia did like him. She flinched as Zagan downed the rest of his tankard and slammed it down, glaring at her. “Well? Spit it out or get out!” The Imperial snapped. At his outburst, Dygonia stood up, her mane bristling.

“Enough, Zagan. There’s no need to be so rough,” The Pearlcatcher hissed in retort. She sat back down when Zagan said no more, gesturing for the Skydancer to go on.

She sighed, deciding to just get on with it. “The Lockjaw just came back. It’s… completely damaged. The technicians are examining the damage to see if the ship has to be decommissioned, and… well Admiral Lucius took a lot of damage too. Voyager 35 went down in the Otherworld as well.” Almost immediately, Atwell jumped out of his seat and dashed out, presumably to look for Lucius. Dygonia just shook her head, and Zagan growled.

“Another ship? What the hell is out there that’s doing this?” Zagan snarled, looking at his tankard in dismay as it went for another sip and realised it was empty. “I say they send out everyone to kill whatever’s destroying out ships and our people.”

Dygonia shook her head as she set her claw file down. “Would you want to risk more dragons? Call me a hypocrite, but I think it might be time to close the portal lest we lose all our ships, all our dragons, and everything we worked for.” Zagan clearly didn’t like what she said, for his hackles were rising, but he said nothing. He never liked Dygonia. Compared to him, she was a glass flower. Pathetic. Weak. Never willing to fight. Dygonia ignored him, looking back to the Skydancer. “Thank you, for letting us know. I’ll inform the rest of the Admirals and Captains and we’ll decide on what to do.”

The Skydancer nodded, retreating from the room and leaving Dygonia to her business. The Pearlcatcher didn’t acknowledge Zagan who was still glaring at her through angry eyes as she left, closing the door behind her with a little more force than necessary. The Admiral sighed as she stepped into the light, seeing the damaged Lockjaw sitting in the bay as technicians swarmed it to examine the damage thoroughly. In her time as an pirate, Dygonia had seen several ships come back damaged and become decommissioned. Looking at the Lockjaw, the Admiral was certain the Lockjaw was going to be added to the gallery of decommissioned ships.

Heading to the town hall, she approached a massive Snapper who was sitting by a huge horn, reading a book. As she approached, the Snapper lowered the book. Dygonia slid a coin over to him. “Call a meeting with all Admirals and Captains to the Sparrow 20. Now.”

The Snapper’s eyes drifted from Dygonia, to the coin, and accepted the coin. He set the book down and got up with a deep sigh, heading over to the horn. As Dygonia was leaving, she heard a deep and loud sound ringing through the whole of Sailfin Bay as the Snapper sounded the Admiral’s horn, to alert all Admirals and Captains. Within a few minutes, all the Scavenger heads in the bay were present on the deck of the Sparrow 20. At the moment, it was just Zagan, Fauzy, Flyett, Redheart, Tegre, Tianmen, Arcina, and Atwell. Everyone else must have been beyond the portal. Of all the gathered Scavenger leaders, most of them seemed pretty tired, which had been a recent development as many of them worked longer, later, and harder. Well, Dygonia couldn’t speak for Zagan and Redheart - they were permanently tired over everything.

Chatter rippled through the small group as Dygonia waited for the rest to arrive. She heard questions floating about, which would hopefully be answered soon. The dragons before her discussed with each other what this meeting could possible have been about, while Zagan and Atwell knew very well just what this was about. Once she was sure no one else was coming, the Admiral raised her hand, commanding silence from the rest.

“Admirals and Captains, I’ve gathered you all here today to discuss a very serious matter that should have been discussed a long time ago. I understand not everyone is present, but the matter does need to be discussed without further delay. As you are all aware, Lockjaw returned from the Otherworld damaged and carrying a heavily injured crew, including Admiral Lucius, and the accompanying Voyager 7 was also taken down along with two of its crew members.” She paused, a mutual understanding of a moment of silence falling onto the group. After it passed, Dygonia continued to speak.

“Sailfin Bay has experienced damage to its ships before. We all understood that when we became Scavengers, that exploring the Otherworld came with its risks. However, the damage sustained to our ships and our people has been more intense than ever, and in the last 3 months we have already had to decommission three ships, and lost over fifty dragons. Unfortunately I have no doubt that the Lockjaw will be the fourth ship we are going to lose,” Dygonia sighed. “I do believe it’s time we have to consider closing the portal.”

Immediately, chatter rippled amongst the high-ranking Scavengers before her. Zagan’s hackles were rising again. “Why should we lose our biggest source of income? We ought to take our ships into the Otherworld and destroy whatever’s damaging our ships!” The Imperial roared, infuriated by the whole mess.

Flyett shook her head. “And just how many ships do you want to lose before we stop sending them out there? How many lives are you willing to sacrifice for something we might not even be able to attain? Honestly Zagan, use your head,” The Tundra retorted, “just because you haven’t felt the pain of losing your crew members doesn’t mean we haven’t.”

It was true. The Magpie 8’s crew used to have nine members, and now was down to six. Three of those members had been lost to the Otherworld many months ago, but Flyett still blamed herself for their losses. Fauzy huffed, crossing their arms. “Well, I do see the logic in both sides of the argument,” The Wildclaw muttered, “on one hand we shouldn’t deserve to let the whole of Sailfin Bay suffer economically by closing the portal, but Flyett has a good point. We can’t keep losing good, honest dragons even if they knew what they were getting into.”

Captain of Voyager 10, Arcina, sided with Dygonia and Flyett too. “I’m sorry Zagan, but it doesn’t make sense to sacrifice our lives. Look at the damage done to the ships.”

Arguments started to break out as the dragons present took sides. Flyett and Arcina sided with Dygonia in favour of closing the portal, while Tegre and Tianmen sided with Zagan. Fauzy and Atwell were on the fence about it, and no one seemed to notice the vicious Admiral Redheart not taking part in the argument until she spoke.

“Enough,” The Mirror hissed, glaring at everyone. “The Seabreaker will go into the Otherworld to kill whatever is attacking us. It is not an offer.” She added that last part as Dygonia opened her mouth to argue, thinking it was going to stop the Pearlcatcher from saying more, but Redheart had never been good at predicting others.

“Ylana-” Dygonia stopped as she got a glare from Redheart, who despised anyone but her now-deceased husband and daughter using her first name. “-Redheart. You’re taking a stupid risk. This isn’t just going to the Otherworld to loot or raid or plunder. You’re going to fight a war against an enemy you don’t even know.”

Redheart rolled her eyes. “When I agreed to become an Admiral, I remember making a promise to do anything for the sake of Sailfin Bay, even if I had to lay down my life. I’m pretty sure you made the same promise, Admiral.” She sneered the last word at Dygonia. Very rarely had Dygonia and Redheart ever seen eye to eye on anything, and they sure weren’t going to now, but Redheart had won the argument. There was no way Dygonia could force her not to go without breaking another promise every Admiral had made - I will never limit the freedom of any dragon in Sailfin Bay.

Fauzy decided to step in before any more tension was formed between the dragons. “The rest of us have other things to think about. Not only is the Otherworld causing problems, but so is the Central. They’re cracking down hard on piracy now that they have a new commander. While the Seabreaker goes into the Otherworld, we can probably assign some Scavenger ships to push the Central back. Patrol ships have been reporting them crossing onto our waters,” They mentioned, pulling attention away from the whole Otherworld-issue and letting Redheart leave. Captain Atwell decided to follow, running after the loner.

“Redheart, wait!” Atwell called out, catching up to the Mirror. He didn’t even get a glance as Redheart kept walking.

“What do you want.” Redheart muttered, shifting a pace away to keep a distance from Atwell.

Atwell scratched the feathers on back of his head. “Uh, I wanted to let you know that Voyager 12 will follow you into the Otherworld. You still need a Voyager to accompany the Seabreaker, right? You weren’t planning on going alone, surely.”

Redheart sighed, too tired to argue. And the Coatl was right anyway, the Seabreaker would need a Voyager to go with it beyond the void. “Fine, whatever makes you happy. I’ll summon you when I have more plans in mind, I’m going to take a nap,” The Mirror muttered, pushing past Atwell. The Coatl watched her go, then turned the other way to head back to the break room. As he entered the small but luxurious room, he sighed and took off his hat, placing it on a table. Flopping down on a seat, he looked up at the flags hanging above.

There were 20 flags, one for each Scavenger ship that had been built by Sailfin Bay’s most talented shipbuilders. The team who built every single Scavenger ship was just made up of twenty-five dragons, which made the process of building new ships slow, but quality was guaranteed with each ship. They refused to expedite the process by handing over the task to anyone else, which was also why four of the twenty ships had been decommissioned when the damage was too great for the shipbuilders to fix. By right, the decommissioned ships should have had their flags taken down, but since three of their Admirals had gone down with the ship, the rest had decided to leave the flags up in their honour. Atwell couldn’t help but wonder if the Lockjaw was going to be classed as decommissioned soon too.

His eyes swept over the flags, lingering on the three other ships that had already been decommissioned. The first he found himself staring at for a little too long was a navy blue flag with a golden sabre-tooth tiger symbol on it, roaring silently forever. It was the flag of Sabre 5, once led by Admiral Keppler. Sabre had been known for its ferocity, and had seen over fifty journeys into the Otherworld before it was destroyed one fateful day by a particularly strong current that slammed the ship into a jagged outcrop and sunk it. Information of how Sailfin Bay lost its ships was made public among the community, but Atwell knew this one particularly well because Voyager 12 and his crew had been the accompanying airship. He distinctly remembered watching the stone outcrop spear the ship’s hull, splitting it in half. Voyager 12 had scrambled to rescue dragons, but by the time they got Admiral Keppler on board the airship, he had already drowned and was dead.

The Coatl’s eyes moved on, just two flags past, to a forest-green flag with a white symbol of a sword piercing a shield. This one was of Vanquisher 7, led by Admiral Renault. This ship had been attacked by Otherworld creatures, piercing the hull and letting water in. The Vanquisher had managed to return to Sailfin Bay safely, though the crew on board had been injured and the hull damaged too badly to be repaired. Admiral Renault hadn’t been hurt too bad, and sailed Duchess 18 for awhile after as Admiral Storm had been sick, but he got on in age and passed on just a year ago. Storm had been kind enough to let Renault sail the Duchess for his last few months before he retired since his own ship was decommissioned, and Storm now was in possession of Renault’s pendant, as a thank you from the late pirate.

Several flags further down was the flag of the Black Sun 14, depicted as an partially-eclipsed sun on a dark blue background. Black Sun had been led by Admiral Ezrila, a tough-love type of Wildclaw. Ezrila was known for modifying her ship so that it ran better, which included some unapproved modifications to the ship’s engine and rudder that were kept out of sight from most others. Ezrila also only worked with Voyager 8 and Captain Sebikos, who helped to design the Black Sun’s modifications. The ship had gone down in the Otherworld when an unknown creature attacked the ship’s modified engine, setting off a massive explosion that killed Ezrila. She had somehow known it would happen, and kept it a secret from the rest of her crew, simply asking Sebikos to pick up all her crew from the Black Sun. When the ship blew up, all her crew were safely on the Voyager 8. No amount of investigation turned up any reason why she would have kept the imminent destruction of the ship she loved so deeply away from her crew.

The last flag Atwell looked at was a grey flag painted with a white set of sharp teeth like a snare trap, belonging to that of Lockjaw 17, the latest ship to come in damaged. Investigations were still underway since the ship had returned barely two hours ago, and Admiral Lucius was still with the local doctors. Atwell sighed, rubbing his temples. Sure, Redheart was right. When they became Admirals they had taken an oath to be willing to lay down their lives for Sailfin Bay. Every Scavenger took that oath, but Flyett was right too. Just how many lives could they sacrifice, taking on this journey against an unknown enemy?

He was shaken from his thoughts as he heard a loud horn go off outside again, and pushed himself out of the seat and over to the window, which overlooked the bay and the flag poles where the ship flags were also flown from. The Sabre, Vanquisher, and Black Sun’s flags had been gone for a long time, leaving three flag poles empty. A duo of dragons stood below the Lockjaw’s flag pole, as a crowd gathered to watch. Dragons from the town hall, campfires, inn, market, and more came outside to the dock to watch. Silence fell across the Bay as the flag was lowered a quarter of the pole, symbolising that the Lockjaw was officially out of commission. Within hours, the local shipbuilders would use their magic to take the ship from the bay and put it away permanently in the shipyard. Dragons all around waited to see if the flag of the Lockjaw would be lowered any further, which would announce that Admiral Lucius had passed. A wave of relief washed over Sailfin Bay as the flag was tied at three quarters, knowing at the beloved Admiral was still alive. Once the two flag handlers at the bottom of the pole were done and left, the crowd began to disperse again, returning to their lives and duties.

Atwell breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Lucius was still alive. His eyes shifted to the sun beginning to set over the horizon, casting a golden glow over every hill and building, and a shimmering reflection over the water on the bay. Yawning, he decided to return to his quarters to get a good night’s rest, knowing Redheart might show up at any time to discuss a plan with him. He closed the break room doors behind him and took flight, heading off towards his home, leaving the worry and troubles back at the bay to return to tomorrow.

That night, well beyond the moon’s peak, the Lockjaw’s flag was untied and lowered, with no one around to see it but the pair of flag handlers at the bottom of the pole. They received the flag, rolled it up neatly for the ceremony, and just like that, Sailfin Bay had lost one more.

Chapter 2.

---

Life for Sailfin Bay had been chaotic for the last week. Besides the reveal that Admiral Lucius had passed away, the mourning, the crying, the preparations for his funeral, and investigations on the Lockjaw, there was also the Central sending ships near Sailfin Bay’s waters on routine patrols to check for piracy. Uproar from the bay’s community about the portal were also dividing the community as more Scavenger ships and Voyagers returned from the Otherworld, mostly unharmed, thankfully and the news spread. Some dragons argued for closing the portal, others argued against it. The Admirals and Captains were also divided in this as others returned and got wind of the news about the death of Lucius, and Redheart’s decision to go to war alone.

“Are you mad?” Admiral Pollux of Blind Tide 19 growled, the Skydancer clearly annoyed by Redheart’s decision to take the Seabreaker to war. Scavenger ships were not made for war! They were made for raids and handling small fights, but never a full scale war. He believed Redheart had really lost her mind this time.

Redheart just sneered. “Last I checked, Pollux, you were always so battle-ready and lusting to spill someone’s blood, and now you think I’m crazy for wanting to fight for my livelihood?” The Mirror snapped back, just as annoyed by Pollux’s hypocrisy.

Fauzy got between the two of them, the Wildclaw having none of it. “Knock it off, you two.”

Admiral Reveri just raised an eyebrow in amusement at Pollux. “You know, Redheart’s got a point there, Pollux. You are being a little hypocritical,” The Guardian mused, but got a glare from Fauzy.

“Not helping.”

Scavenger 1, Silver Light 6, Azurian Sky 10, Victory Night 12, and Blind Tide 19 had returned from their trips to the Otherworld, with as much loot as they could get without risking the ship and crew, which was very little. Coming back home with them were Voyagers Cloud Jumper, Ursus, Eridanus, Starlight, and Vulpecula, of which Cloud Jumper had sustained minimal damage to the sails from scratching a wall when an air current pushed the ship too hard, but the tears were already fixed up by the shipbuilders.

“This is ridiculous,” Captain Arcina of the Vulpecula huffed, the Fae crossing her arms. “But you know what, if you want to sacrifice yourself for something as ridiculous as this then by my guest.” She looked Redheart in the eye as she said this, and Atwell immediately got in her face about it.

“What, too cowardly all of a sudden?” Atwell growled. He thought it was greatly unfair that Redheart was getting so much flak for her decision to go to war. It wasn’t like she demanded anyone else come with her. She had already spoken to her own crew and that of Atwell’s, and Redheart had made it very clear that anyone who wanted out was welcome to, and would still be welcomed back on board if the Seabreaker or Voyager 12 returned safe. Every single member of her crew and Atwell’s was willing , so it wasn’t as if Redheart had forced anyone to go with her.

Arcina scowled at Atwell. “Excuse me? What did you just call me?” The Fae hissed, refusing to be cowed by Atwell.

“Guys! Can we all just calm down?” Admiral Adelpha pleaded, trying to help Fauzy break things up before they got much worse. “There’s no need for anyone to get aggressive here!”

A red-and-gold Coatl rolled her eyes at Adelpha and Fauzy’s attempts. “Whatever you say, Adelpha. You can’t change the minds of any of these stubborn idiots. It’s why they’re Admirals and Captains,” Admiral Saramune mocked. Well, there was some truth to her words. It seemed every single high-ranking Scavenger had a similar trait - stubbornness. Maybe with the exception of Flyett.

“Hey- if you don’t have anything to say other than mocking us, then can it,” Admiral Tegre snarled at Saramune, the massive tiger-striped Guardian tired of all this bickering. Hell, if Redheart wanted to go and fight, who was to stop her? The Mirror never made sense anyway. Saramune glared at Tegre, and after a second of sharing looks, looked ready to start a fight.

All this time, Redheart was sitting to one side, completely silent, watching the arguments go down. She had nothing to say since she agreed with Saramune that every Admiral and every Captain was stubborn in their views, and no amount of convincing would change their minds, especially when it came to a matter like this where it was literally about life and death. She only looked up slightly from the coin she had taken interest in when Zagan stamped his foot down and let out a roar demanding silence, so loud that it rang out from the Seabreaker, over the water, beyond the shipyard, and a faint echo could be heard all the way from the bay. Several dragons in the Buried Trove Inn looked up from their drinks, sharing looks with each other from their tables, silently questioning what that sound was before shrugging and going back to their drinks.

The rest of the dragons on the ship fell silent, all eyes turning to look at Zagan in a mix of annoyance and horror at the magnificent roar. “Enough. That’s enough. You all act like bloody hatchlings, quarreling and bickering. Redheart made her decision, and she’ll stick to it. Nothing any of you say can change her mind, I think we all know that from our years knowing Redheart.” The flightless Imperial looked over to Redheart, who was still toying with the coin between her sharp claws. “Redheart, I will join you in your journey, if you’ll have me. I will fight for Sailfin Bay, if no one else will.”

Redheart glanced up a little bit more, a touch of amusement in her eyes at Zagan’s offer. “Really now?” The pirate drawled. “Well who am I to decline?” She shrugged, raising her hands in mock defeat. “Well if we’re done here, I’d like you all to get off my ship. I want some privacy.”

Since there was really nothing else to say, one by one the dragons began to leave. The first to take off were the annoyed Pollux, Saramune, Arcina, and Reveri. Then Fauzy left, deciding there was little reason to stick around, and Zagan, Kydug, Ryken, Faye, Sebikos and Sygor followed. One of the last to leave was Adelpha, who was ready to take flight when she looked back at the loner Redheart. “Hey, we’ll see you tonight at Lucius’s ceremony, okay?” When no response came except for Redheart looking at her, she just took off, knowing Redheart would be there.

Once everyone was gone did Redheart shake her head, looking at Atwell, who was the only other dragon left. “You should go too,” Redheart muttered, heading towards the stairs to return to her quarters upon the Seabreaker. “Lucius’s ceremony is going to be a long one tonight.” She didn’t bother waiting to see if Atwell was going to leave before she headed into the lower decks of the ship, leaving Atwell alone.

The Coatl simply watched her go, before he took, flew off back to the bay where the final preparations for Lucius’s funeral were taking place before the ceremony began. Tonight, none of the Admirals or Captains would sleep, as was tradition when one of the high-ranking Scavengers passed away. The bay was lit with torches, lanterns, and fires, and dragons were already gathering all around the bay. Reveri had docked the Scavanger on the bay to allow more viewing space, though guards were stationed on the ship too to make sure that no one went where they weren’t supposed to.

This funeral was going to be even bigger, as Captain Airve of Voyager 7 Capricorn had died too, though his body had been lost to the Otherworld. As was tradition in the case of a body not being able to be retrieved, their items would be burned. It was a traditional sendoff for every Scavenger unless specifically requested otherwise, for their bodies and items to be placed on a boat that would be pushed out to sea and burned.

As night descended upon the bay, Redheart returned to watch the ceremony. For the sake of Lucius and Airve, the remaining Admirals and Captains agreed to put aside their differences for tonight so that the ceremony could run smoothly. The Mirror landed just before the town hall, which had been closed off to prepare the boats. Given her position, Redheart was allowed inside. All Admirals were invited to help prepare Lucius’s body, while the same was being done by the Captains for Airve.

Most of Lucius’s belongings had already been placed on the boat, leaving a space for the body which Red and his team would bring to the boat once it was ready. Redheart, having known Lucius and cared about him deeply, had a special something for him, so she declined Admiral Mara’s offer to let her place the last item.

“Are you sure?” Mara asked, the Spiral holding a majestic pair of antlers that Lucius obtained during a raid on the Otherworld.

Redheart nodded. “I have something else I’d like to do.”

Mara nodded, going ahead and placing the antlers on the fore of the boat, just above where Lucius’s head would be when Red arrived later. She fixed them on securely, before stepping back to let Redheart do what she needed to.

Redheart stepped forward, peering down at the empty space in the boat. She extended a claw and carved a symbol into the bottom of the boat, scratching the wood with her claw expertly. The rest watched as she did so, curious to know what she was doing. As she carved the symbol, she whispered a language no one else understood, mostly to herself. They only understood the last sentence she uttered as she finished the carving. “Let the Consoleglitch bless your soul, ease all pain, and leave without regret.” As she spoke, the symbol began to glow with a silvery light, like someone poured silver paint into it, then it disappeared.

Fauzy raised an eyebrow. “You’re a follower of the Consoleglitch?” He asked. Not many in Sailfin Bay were. The Consoleglitch had done little to interfere or help them, so her presence and influence was not very well known among locals.

“Yes, I am. I looked to her when…” She trailed off for a moment, unsure if she wanted to share about her own losses. She decided against it, shaking her head. “Never mind. I just looked to her when I experienced loss is all.”

“I understand,” Fauzy replied, but didn’t say anymore about it. They looked up as Red entered, his team carrying a covered body to lay in the boat. The team of medics carefully placed the body in the boat. He and Reveri lay the flag of the Lockjaw over it, covering the whole boat.

“I suppose it’s time,” Reveri sighed.

The doctor nodded in return. “So it is.” With help from Reveri and Zagan, they lifted the boat up and carried it out of the town hall, followed by the rest of the Admirals, then the Captains with the boat with Airve’s belongings. The two boats were set in the water, Reveri getting into the water with it, and Captain Ierdu doing the same with Airve’s boat. They guided the boats along in the water, the rest walking along with it on the path towards the river.

When the boats finally got to the end of the river, they were pushed out, held at the shore with the open sea ahead for a final speech. Several different dragons were invited up to speak for both Lucius and Airve, which went on for almost an hour, before the boats were finally pushed out to sea, watching them drift away. Reveri presented a bow and arrow to the first mates of both Lucius and Airve, and Dygonia brought a torch for them to light the arrows.

When the arrows were alight, the two first mates took aim, raising the flaming arrows to the sky and drawing them back. They set the arrows off, watching them launch in an arc across the night sky, landing in the boats and beginning to burn the flags draped over them blaze. Within minutes, the boats had caught fire and continued to drift away until the boat was out of sight, far beyond the fog of the sea, where they boats would blaze until nothing was left but some driftwood and ash. Only once the boats were well beyond the mist did dragons begin to leave to return to their sleep, while the Admirals and Captains returned to the break room, where they’d stay up for the rest of the night.

Once in the break room, the Scavengers split off into their own groups, talking in hushed voices about a range of topics. Some spoke of Lucius’s and Airve’s lives, others muttering things about trying to stay awake. Redheart had retreated to her own corner, where Atwell and Zagan joined her. Now was as good a time as any to discuss a potential war.

“What a night, hm?” Atwell muttered as he sat in the seat next to Redheart. Even though the Mirror only took a quarter of the sofa she was lounging on, Atwell knew she didn’t like sharing seats with others, so he got a different one. Zagan approached and sat across from Redheart, silently looking between the Mirror and the Coatl.

“Indeed,” Redheart replied. “Now what are you two doing here.”

For once, Zagan seemed more mellow, his aggressive nature dampened by the funerals. “Since none of us are sleeping tonight, we may as well talk about going to war with the Otherworld. There is much to be planned if we are to even have a chance at winning. I’ve already decided that I will be solely representing the Howling Raider.”

Atwell looked over in shock. “You’re not bringing any crew?” He asked. Now who had lost their marbles?

Zagan nodded. “I’ve considered what Dygonia and Flyett said about risking the lives of others. It was my idea to go to war- well, Redheart picked up on that, but since I was willing to, then I should go alone. My crew doesn’t need to know that.”

Redheart thrummed her claws on the sofa, making no sound, but pulling up small fibers from the seat as her claws hook onto them and dragged them up. “If that’s the case then I can allow you to ride the Seabreaker. Less suspicion will be held if less ships are crossing the portal, and I suspect we should keep this under wraps. There will be hell if we let the public know of this. Fauzy’s already got people’s attention over the Central coming near our waters. If they can keep the focus on that, then we’ll be able to slip by without anyone noticing.”

Atwell nodded thoughtfully. Fauzy was an excellent distraction and seemed to always know what to do and say. They would be able to keep the eyes and mind of the public away while the Seabreaker and Voyager 12 slipped by, and by the time anyone started questioning, it would be too late to get them back. After that, it was just a matter of whether they were going to come back alive… or if they were going to come back at all.

Redheart shook her head. “I suppose that’s that then. Tomorrow, we start packing. We’re going to need the best tools and weapons we can get. I can speak to Krakle about void weaponry and power, since we’re going to be in the Otherworld far longer than any raid. Food storage can go into the Seabreaker’s cargo deck.” She got up, smoothing her kilt down.

“Wait, where are you going?” Atwell asked.

Redheart was already heading for the door. “Going to speak to Krakle. They’re definitely still awake right now, so I may as well.” Without another word, Redheart left and silently closed the door behind her, the only notice of her leave being the click of the door as it closed shut again. Once she was outside, she took a deep breath and looked up at the sky to see how far the moon had gone. It was well beyond its peak already, giving roughly two hours before dawn. More than enough time to speak to Krakle. Silently, the Admiral slunk through the streets of the Bay, going around the water. Only the stable boy noticed her as her shadow passed from one lamppost to another.

She crossed the bridge and over to the mining entrance. It was a downward slope into a tunnel underground that led to the mining caves - a network of ore-rich caves that allowed miners access to their work and livelihood. The mining office and workshop were also down here. As Redheart went deeper into the caves, she could heard the familiar, rhythmic tink sound of the tips of hardened pickaxes hitting stone and ore constantly. At this time of night, the sounds were few and far between. In the day when more miners were down here, getting through was almost impossible between miners yelling to get out of the way, massive, heavy wheelbarrows of ore being pushed by, and the constant sound of steel hitting stone.

“Excuse me, coming through.” A voice mentioned from behind Redheart. The Admiral looked behind her to see a grey dog with a white collar coming by, pulling a cart which held a securely contained steel box. The box had yellow tape all around it and the biohazard symbol painted on it, warning dragons from touching it. Redheart stepped aside, pressing herself against the wall of the narrow tunnel to let the dog by. “Good evening, Admiral,” The dog greeted as she walked by.

“Evening, Good Girl,” Redheart greeted in return. “Delivering materials?”

Good Girl nodded. “Yes, the Head Miner has requested for some void shards. They’re probably working on some experimental weaponry or energy again. Why are you down here?” Good Girl was one half of a canine sibling duo, with her brother, Good Boy. While Good Boy seemed to be a typical dog with his intense love of digging bones and rewarding dragons willing to help with old weapons he dug up, Good Girl was more eloquent and sophisticated. She still took part in her canine behaviour, as her brother mentioned so often, but only when no one was around to see.

Redheart’s eyes lit up at the mention of Good Girl looking for the head miner. “Oh, you’re going to see Krakle? I need to speak to them too.”

Good Girl’s tail flicked, gesturing for Redheart to follow. “Come with me then, I know where they are.” She continued on, pulling the cart of void shards behind her, and Redheart followed her into the tunnels. It was a short walk to the workshop, but the cold tunnel turned into a warm room as Good Girl’s paws set off the pressure plates, opening the doors to the workshop.

The workshop was a rather large place, completely set underground. It was warm and filled with very industrial smells of smoke, metal, wood, and had a constant sound of something, whether it was a steam pipe chuffing, a grindstone screeching as swords were sharpened against it, a blast furnace roaring, or someone talking. This time, lighthearted music of flutes and harps also filled the air, and the workshop was fairly empty as well.

Redheart rarely came down here for she had little reason to, but couldn’t help but look around in awe at everything. There was a huge shelf of ores, stacks of wood, bags of coal, shimmering jewels and unrefined materials that took up a whole wall from ceiling to floor. Balconies made up the second floor, where more shelves filled with ore and materials sat, along with smaller workbenches for individual dragons to work on their own. On the ground floor, a short, green-blue Coatl was humming to themselves as they tinkered with something. They didn’t notice as Good Girl and Redheart entered, dancing slightly to the delightful music as they put on a pair of goggles and glows, opening up the blast furnace and reaching in with a pair of tongs to produce a shining, purple gem. The gem was crystalline on the outside, though at its core it was black. The Coatl held it up to the light, before dunking it into a barrel of cold water. Steam rose into the air and the gem hissed as it was rapidly cooled. A helmet sat on the table, instead of on the Coatl’s head where it should have been.

“I’m back, Krakle,” Good Girl announced her arrival. “And Admiral Redheart is here with me. She wants to speak with you.” The dog pulled up her cart next to the head miner, waiting patiently for them to help undo the cart that was secured to her body with a wooden frame. Krakle looked down at Good Girl, then at Redheart as they undid the frame from Good Girl’s body.

“Ah, Redheart!” The Coatl greeted. “What can I do for ya?” Krakle had a bit of an intense, northern accent, having hailed from the very north of the Southern Icefield, with vikings. They had purposely sought out Scyria after being exalted, and was very happy here.

Redheart allowed a small smile to tug at her lips. “Shouldn’t you be wearing your helmet?” She teased.

“Bah! I’m alone in the workshop, don’t worry about it,” Krakle waved off. “Now, what’s got the most fearsome devil on the bay in my workshop?”

Krakle was a head miner for two reasons. One- they had been here a long time, and had definitely earned their rank through time and effort. They loved their work and put everything into it, which got them noticed for the position. Two- Krakle had been the one to discover how to turn void shards into energy. With the amount of shards Scavengers could get from the Otherworld, it may as well have been an infinite, sustainable form of energy with very little emissions. It was also insanely powerful, and a handful of shards was enough to power a whole Scavenger ship through a week-long raid. On the side, Krakle also created immensely powerful weapons using void shards.

Redheart watched as Krakle gave Good Girl an arm-sized bone as a treat for helping them out. The dog happily received it and retreated to one corner of the workshop, chewing on the bone. “I need weapons, Krakle. I-”

“Help yourself out then! Ya know where the armoury is,” Krakle cut in, before Redheart had finished. They gestured to the door leading to the armoury, where weapons made of steel and diamond shone in the light.

“No, I don’t mean those. I have enough of those weapons on my ship alone. I need better weapons, Krakle. I’m going to war with the Otherworld creature that’s been destroying our ships,” Redheart explained.

Krakle’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re going to what? Goodness Redheart, you’re mad! Ya seen what it does to ships and dragons. You’d be asking for a death wish.” When it became obvious that Redheart was not budging, they sighed. “Fine, ya got my arms in a twist here- figuratively. Don’t ya be touching my arms, I need these.” They made a dramatic show of their arms, weathered, scarred, and hardened by years of working in the mines. There were patches of missing or singed feathers on their arms. “Come on, I’ll show ya my greatest works.”

Krakle gestured for Redheart to follow, and she did. Good Girl, curious, decided to hide her bone under a tarp and followed them as well. Krakle led Redheart deeper into the workshop, pulling aside bags of coal and crates from a wall next to the forge. They pressed on a stone in the wall, and a secret passageway opened up. Huh. “Come on, don’t look so surprised. Gotta have my own secrets, hm?”

The room was extremely hot given its proximity to the forge, but the sweltering experience was thankfully short-lived as they got to another, more obvious door. There was a bat-like creature hanging above the door, and it sniffed the air as the two dragons and one dog approached. It unfolded its wings, eying them, before it crawled through the gap under the door and unlocked it from the other side.

What Redheart saw on the other side of the door was incredible. As soon as she stepped in, the heat of the forge melted away and cool air blasted her. Before her was a simple room, but the walls were covered in displays of all sorts of void weapons, with twinkling blades that looked like they were made of starlight, and handles of the same black-purple crystal Krakle had just been making. “Oh… my. Wow,” Redheart breathed, looking at the weapons all over the room.

“Here’s all my prized creations. All 100% Otherworld materials, nothing Scyrian. Now,” They wagged a claw at Redheart in case she got too excited, “I never tested any of these weapons. All I knows is that they’re one of a kind, stronger than diamond, more powerful than anything. Ya got to be careful using these, alright?”

Redheart found herself looking at an impressive sword with a curved starlight blade. The handle was not smooth, a little textured with the ridges of the crystal material used to build it, but the blade was smooth and shiny, sparkling in the light. Very carefully, she reached forward to grab the handle and lifted it off the stand, running her hand across the flat edge of the blade. It was perfectly smooth, but pulsed with power. “Can I take this?” She asked, looking at Krakle.

Krakle shrugged. “Take whatever ya need.”

Immediately, Redheart looked at Good Girl. “Can you help me get everything to my ship?” She asked.

Krakle looked up. “What! You’re taking everything?” They stammered.

Redheart grinned. “Well, you did say I could take whatever I need.”

“I- I did- ugh, I did, didn’t I? Fine, take it all then. Just give them back when you’re done using them,” Krakle grumbled, realising they had set themself up for this. They stepped aside as Redheart handed smaller things for Good Girl to carry in her mouth - a pair of daggers and some arrows, while Redheart herself collected everything else in her hands, including several swords, a longbow, axes, scythes, and a hammer.

Krakle rolled their eyes, watching Redheart struggle with holding so many things. “Here- lemme help ya before ya start dropping things all over the place.” They took some stuff off Redheart’s hands, still grumbling over how she didn’t really need everything, even as they left to load it all into Good Girl’s cart. Redheart made sure everything was sitting in the cart properly and wouldn’t roll off, and Krakle strapped the cart’s frame onto Good Girl’s torso, allowing her to pull it while walking normally.

“Just try not to damage any of my stuff,” Krakle grumbled, as Redheart and Good Girl left. Once they were gone, the Coatl went back to their work, still muttering and grumbling about the whole thing while they shoved another crystal into the blast furnace.

For Redheart, the most important step of preparation was done. Now, she just had to get Atwell and Zagan to dump whatever other cargo and food on her ship, and the Seabreaker would be ready for war.

Chapter 3.

---

Dawn arrived for Sailfin Bay, washing the glistening shore in a milky, blue light. The sky faded from blue to a rich pink, before it became filled with red, orange, and finally, a stunning gold as the Lightweaver brought the sun rising above this side of Scyria.

Bang!

A heavy, once-filled tankard slammed to the table of the Buried Trove Inn, alerting the hostess Karima. The Bogsneak looked up at the sound, shooting looks at the Mirror in question who was responsible for the sudden slam.

Redheart breathed a deep sigh, rubbing her temples and staring into her empty tankard with a drunken dismay. It was barely dawn and yet the Admiral was already drunk as hell, having sat in the tavern since the night before. Something was clearly on her mind if the Admiral had been in the bar drinking non-stop since the sun set, but it wasn't Karima's business to know. Her business was ensuring that every time she refilled the tankard, that Redheart would let go of some coins in exchange.

The Bogsneak hostess got up with the pitcher of ale, heading over to the lone table Redheart occupied in the corner. Karima stood there in silent, questioning visually if Redheart wanted to be refilled. Other guests were starting to leave their rooms and wander down for breakfast, so she hoped the drunk Mirror would answer her soon.

With a heavy sigh, Redheart pushed her tankard towards Karima, releasing her grip on the top to let Karima refill it. Hell, what was one more drink anyway? Such was the question she had been asking herself since a couple hours ago. She must have had at least a dozen drinks since then. When Karima had it refilled, she dragged the heavy thing back towards her, watching the beverage in it bubble and foam at the top a little through tired eyes.

As she lifted the mug to her lips and took a long sip from it, she failed to notice someone slinking in through the door of the inn until that figure was right up to her table. With the light against the figure's back and her blurry eyes, she could hardly make out who it was until she found herself able to focus enough on the feathered hat the individual adorned.

"The hell do you want, Atwell?" Redheart slurred around her drink, half hoping that she got the name right. Maybe it wasn't Atwell at all. Could have been Captain Sebikos of Starlight, the eight Voyager that used to work very closely with the now sunken Black Sun 14, once commandeered by the late Admiral Ezrila. Now Starlight worked with Blind Tide 19, led by Adimral Pollux, or Azurian Sky 10, led by Admiral Adelpha.

Captain Atwell adjusted his feathered cavalier, shaking his head. "How drunk are you?" Before Redheart could even attempt to contemplate the question, he waved his hand. "Never mind that, are you sober enough to sail?"

Two pairs of sharp, pink eyes locked on Atwell. "Why?" Redheart demanded. "I thought the head Scavengers made the decision that none of us are to sail, whether it's into the Otherworld or out into open waters. Only the patrol ships go anywhere now..."

"I've been doing some scouting, and we should talk elsewhere. Too many ears here," Atwell growled, prompting Redheart out of her seat. The Admiral downed the rest of her tankard, leaving some coins on the weathered table for the hostess to collect, before stumbling out after Atwell, trying to keep her balance as the alcohol tainted her system. She squinted against the light outside, having been inside for too long that the sun blinded her for a second. Once she recovered, blinking away the effects of the sudden exposure to light, she followed Atwell who had taken flight.

They headed out of the bay itself, going beyond the mountains and into a dark forest, just southwest of Sailfin Bay. The forest was a notorious place for dragons and creatures to reside due to its proximity to the bay, but it provided ample shelter at night as well. Redheart just blindly followed Atwell wherever the Coatl went, the former clumsily diving through the trees. While Atwell landed gracefully and with barely a sound but the whoosh of air on his wings, Redheart tumbled through branches and leaves, landing with a thump on the forest floor.

Atwell helped to pick the drunk Admiral up. "Okay, maybe I shouldn't have asked you to come with me before you sobered up," He muttered, helping Redheart stabilise herself on the ground. The Admiral said nothing in return to that.

Before them was a little cottage in the woods, steam piping out of the chimney. It was a very adorable, cozy place, especially with the sunlight shining on the thatched roof. Wildflowers of all sorts sprung from the ground outside, with only a small patch of grass bare of flowers where the door swung open. Flowers used to grow there in front of the door the first year the house was built, but after getting hit so many times by a swinging door and trod on by dragons left and right, that spot had turned bare. The grass however, was adamant about growing there instead of making a flattened, glaring spot of dirt.

Through the darkened window no one could be seen, but when Atwell knocked on the door, it was answered within moments by Admiral Fauzy, peering through the door for a moment before swinging it wide open to let Atwell and Redheart in. "Ah, you're both here. Was wondering when you'd return with Redheart," Fauzy commented to Captain Atwell.

"She's a little drunk still. Has yet to sober up," Atwell returned, allowing himself into the cottage. Fauzy peered at Redheart, noticing small leaves and bits of twigs and branches clinging to her from her clumsy landing through the trees.

"I see," They muttered, letting them both in before shutting the door. "Well I've got some tea prepared, help yourself. We can talk whenever Redheart has sobered up."

Redheart waved her hand. "Nah, you can start talking now," She growled, "I'm sober enough to hear what you have to say." She looked down at the glass table as Atwell set a cup of tea before her. "Thanks."

Fauzy allowed both guests in his home to settle down before they cleared their throat. "Right, suppose we can get on with things then. Redheart, I know you're adamant about going to war with whatever's in the Otherworld that's destroying our ships."

"Uh huh," Redheart muttered from behind the delicate teacup grasped between her scarred, weathered hands. The contrast was almost hilarious. Fauzy had a lot of fancy china, but Redheart was one of the last dragons one might expect to handle it. She was surprisingly careful with it, not wanting to break Fauzy's things. She had nothing against Fauzy, perhaps even going as far to say she tolerated them. If it was Pollux or Reveri's things, she may not have been as careful.

"We can't use the portal," Atwell cut in.

Silence followed, Redheart pulling the cup away from her lips and placing it back on the table, clearing her throat. "What."

Fauzy rolled their eyes. "Atwell is right, we can't really use the portal that Sailfin Bay has. No way can we get a Scavenger and a Voyager ship through without being spotted, no matter what time of day."

"So what do you suggest? There's no other way of getting to the Otherworld," Redheart muttered.

The Wildclaw nodded. "You are right to say that portals are the only way to get to the Otherworld, but Atwell and I were out exploring while you were drinking your night away. The portal in Sailfin Bay isn't the only one out there. We found another one."

"How do you know it goes to the Otherworld?"

Fauzy and Atwell shared a look, unsure whether to tell Redheart the truth. Atwell shrugged, and Fauzy sighed. Sure, leave it to him to reveal something completely ridiculous. "We went in. Had a grapple on Scyria and just stuck our heads in to see. It goes to a different part of the Otherworld, but it sure is the same place." When they felt that Redheart wasn't completely convinced, they sighed. "The only problem is that it's small. Big enough for a Voyager to fit, but not a Scavenger ship. You wouldn't be able to sail the Seabreaker."

Redheart's crests flattened at the idea. "Then what's the point? I'm only an Admiral if I have my ship!" She couldn't imagine travelling into the vast unknown without the Seabreaker. Imagine a Voyager airship, going in alone. Unheard of! It was a death wish for a Voyager to enter the Otherworld without a Scavenger, or vice versa. There was a reason why a pair always entered the Otherworld together.

"I know it's not something you like but-"

"Wait, was that portal the size limit? Surely not, it was embedded into a river. Reckon we could make it bigger if we just... blow up the river bed," Atwell chimed in, scratching his head feathers. "Something similar was done to the portal we use in the bay, I"m sure the river portal we found is bigger. We'd just have to make it bigger."

Fauzy wasn't sure if they liked the idea of blowing up a river. "How do you even go about doing that? Blowing apart a mountain was one thing, you can't just throw explosives into a river and hope that works."

---

Redheart threw explosives into a river, and it worked. Fauzy couldn't believe it, the crazy dragon had actually just dumped a wheelbarrow full of dynamite into the river, circling the portal, and just... detonated it.

Water splashed all over the three of them from the detonation, but Redheart didn't seem to mind, excitedly bounding towards the river banks to see. Once the dust settled and the water calmed, it was revealed that the portal was made wider. Perhaps, with some luck, it was enough to get the Seabreaker through.

"I don't see why you couldn't just ask to borrow a smaller ship, like the Howling Raider or the Magpie," Fauzy mused as they stared into the void at the bottom of the river.

Redheart scowled at the idea of asking to borrow someone else's ship. "Zagan and Flyett are the last dragons I want to involve in this. Zagan would roar my ear off and Flyett would just keep worrying about anything happening to her ship. Besides, like I said before, I'm not an Admiral without my ship."

"With what we're doing anyway, I reckon a bigger ship would be better, since we're going to war and all," Atwell commented. "Question now is, how do we even get the Seabreaker here? Dragons are bound to question, especially the shipyard handlers since no one's been sailing except patrol ships."

Redheart stared into the portal, glistening and glimmering below the water's surface. It was entrancing to see, shimmering like starlight. "I can bribe them to keep their mouths shut. We just need long enough to get to the Otherworld without being found out. A little leverage is all we need." She reached to her belt for a pouch of coins, jingling it.

Fauzy raised his eyebrows, while Atwell just nodded. "We'll leave that to you then. Just let me know when we're leaving. I gotta get back to my airship." With that, Atwell tipped his hat and turned, launching into the air with powerful wings. Fauzy said nothing, casually saluting with two claws, before he too, left.

Redheart, instead of returning to Sailfin Bay, turned the other way and headed out to the Great Sea, over to the shipyard where the 16 Scavenger ships lay on sunset waters.

Chapter 4.

---

Redheart sat aboard the fore of the Seabreaker 9, behind the ship's wheel as she directed it through the river. Bribery had worked with the handlers at the shipyard, getting them to keep their mouths shut when the Mirror took her ship out despite the order for none of the Scavenger ships to leave. Given the order, none of the other admirals or captains visited the shipyard - there was no reason to, so it was easy for Redheart to sneak her ship out and take it to the portal where Captain Atwell and Admiral Fauzy were waiting for her. Atwell was in the Voyager 12, the airship anchored to the ground for now while waiting. Fauzy was further beyond, keeping watch for anyone who might see the two ships.

There were a total of four crew on board the Seabreaker, and another three on the Voyager 12 Cassiopeia. With Fauzy included, this made the total crew heading into the Otherworld nine.

On board the Seabreaker was of course, heading the ship, Admiral Redheart. There was her first mate, a brutal and merciless Wildclaw who had suffered many injuries but never succumbed to them by the name of "Lucky" Inka. The other three were crew members who worked in the lower decks, though the Seabreaker didn't have a local navigator as that was the Voyager's job.

The Voyager 12's crew was small, Captain Atwell choosing to take only part of his usual crew of five. Besides himself, there was also Selkin "Ghost" Lackley, a social recluse who said little but acted big; and Little Zo, a young master navigator. Atwell initially didn't want to bring Zo given his age, but the Spiral had wrapped himself around Atwell and refused to let go until the Coatl relented and agreed.

"Ahoy, Admiral!" Captain Atwell greeted, saluting to Redheart as the massive scavenger ship pulled up and docked at the river. Inka and another ship hand hauled the anchor over the side of the ship, the heavy metal splashing into the river below to anchor the ship.

Redheart glanced up at the floating airship. "Ahoy, Captain," She drawled, launching herself up into the air and soaring onto the airship. "Is everything ready for our venture?"

The Coatl tapped his foot on the deck of the airship, which had some supplies. The bulk of it was on the Seabreaker since the Voyager needed to stay light. "Of course. Cassiopeia is always ready to follow scavengers into the unknown."

He gestured for Redheart to follow, heading into the lower decks. Unlike Scavenger ships which each had a different model fitting the Admiral's needs, Voyagers were all a standard model with three decks. The lowest deck was for storage, the second deck with living quarters for the Captain and crew, and the top deck where the ship was steered. Atwell led Redheart into the storage crew, where rows of crates and chests of necessities lay.

Between the Seabreaker and Cassiopeia, the weapons borrowed from Krakle made of void shards had been split between them. They were stored in chests with a magical protection that would keep any accidental damage while on travel to a minimum. Atwell tapped on the purple chest containing them and unlocked it, pushing the cover open to reveal half of the weapons wrapped up carefully in thick cloth. They glowed with a soft purple light, the blades of starlight shifting like a little piece of space itself.

"Carefully wrapped and protected," Atwell explained, closing the chest and locking it up again. "None of the magic gets out this thing." He tapped the chest with his claws with pride, beaming.

Redheart examined the chest closely. It was definitely not something Scyria-made. "Something you picked up in the Otherworld?" The Admiral asked.

Atwell nodded. "Three months ago when I went to Zone 13 with Adelpha, Winger, and Makameit."

Ah, Zone 13. The Otherworld had been mapped into 25 zones, of which Zone 13 was notorious for being one of the most hostile yet lucrative zones. A joint excursion between Azurian Sky 10, Shrike 15, Centaurus, and Cassiopeia had been held to head into the zone to uncover the source of intense magic, and they had returned with more loot than had ever been uncovered since the Scavengers set sail for the first time. It had been a dangerous journey, but the loot was well worth it. Atwell tapped the chest. "Everything else is packed - food, medical supplies, armour, and whatever we'll need to keep the Otherworld folk from attacking."

Some camps in the Otherworld had creatures who were significantly less hostile. Flyett had first thought of making friends instead of attacking, finding out safe spots for the scavengers to dock at. The scavengers often brought customary gifts to these safe spots for the locals just to remain on their good side. It was almost a necessity to bring gifts if they wanted to dock at places with inhabitants, though not everyone was on board with the idea. Admiral Zagan and Tegre in particular hated it and made it a point to never dock where Otherworld locals lived.

"Looks like we're ready then. This is going to be one of the most dangerous voyages we've taken." Redheart unknowingly reached for the necklace around her neck, a golden skull wrapped around a moonstone. Her claws ran over the little charm as she stared blankly at nothing, Atwell watching her in confusion. After a bit, he reached out to wave a hand in front of her face.

"Hey, you're in a daze." Redheart blinked herself out of her trance, shaking her head. "But uh, yeah. Danger. But you and I both know we scavengers live off danger, I'm sure we'll be fine." He pat her on the shoulder and headed for the ladder, climbing back up to the top deck. Redheart followed suit, claws still running over the charm around her neck until she took off from the airship and back down to the massive Seabreaker.

On board her ship were her crew of seven, including first mate "Lucky" Inka, a steely silent type who had survived ridiculous trips to the brink of death. She was almost unkillable. Inka approached, nodding to her boss. "The Seabreaker is prepared to sail, Admiral."

Redheart nodded her acknowledgement. "Understood. I-" She cut off, moving to the side of her ship as she saw Fauzy dashing through the trees, taking flight once his wings were no longer at risk of getting torn apart by sharp branches and thorns. "Weigh anchor!" Redheart commanded, already knowing why Fauzy was in such a hurry. They needed to leave. Now.

Fauzy shot up onto the deck of the Seabreaker. "Trouble," They muttered, "Reveri, Dygonia and Arcina are coming. We need to go."

Above them, Atwell was already moving off ahead of them, the crew on the airship hurling a weight off the airship to drag it down through the portal. Once the airship had disappeared over to the other side, Redheart got her ship to move off too towards the portal in the river bed. Behind, Dygonia heard what was going on though she hadn't yet seen the ship, urging Reveri and Arcina to hurry and see what was happening.

The ship wasn't moving too fast due to the narrow river, but looking back and seeing Reveri, Dygonia, and Arcina stare and back at the distance, Redheart knew it would be tight but they could make it before they were stopped. "Come on, let's go!" Redheart roared, thrusting the ship as fast she could without hitting a river bank.

The three scavengers behind them were already flying, trying to catch up and probably take over her ship and stop it. Redheart spun around as she heard something crawl up the side of her ship, kicking Zagan right in the stomach as he got behind her.

"Zagan? If you're here to stop me then good luck, I'll throw you off this ship myself!" Redheart snapped. She lunged for the flightless Imperial, pinning him to the ground while Inka took over the wheel.

Zagan snarled, kicking Redheart off. "Damnit you, I said I was on your side! I'm coming, you know you need it!" With Redheart no longer pinning him down, he managed to flip over just as Arcina reached the ship. The Imperial grabbed her, throwing her off the side of the Seabreaker and into the water. When Reveri and Dygonia heard the splash, they stopped following and went to help Arcina instead, the Fae cursing and swearing Zagan and Redheart to all hell and back. When Arcina was pulled out of the river, the Seabreaker was already gone, leaving nothing but the portal in the water.

"Damnit...." Dygonia muttered.

---

The Otherworld current swept at the Seabreaker and Cassiopeia Voyager, but both seasoned ships were ready and able to withstand it. When entering the Otherworld, the immediate current was the first thing to challenge the ships, but it usually only lasted a few minutes and once they got further into the darkness on inky water, was generally calm again.

Redheart took over the Seabreaker again, letting Inka show Zagan where he could stay on board on the lower decks. The Mirror kept control of the ship with ease, having experienced it thousands of times over years of sailing. She looked up occasionally to make sure that Atwell was ahead, keeping an eye on the orange balloon of the airship.

Within minutes, the rocking and howling wind stopped, making way for a calm, dark sea. The light of some settlements to the sides reflected on the water, strange locals coming out to see what was coming by. Most of them were neutral, wary but not hostile unless the Sailfin Scavengers got closer. They watched the ships go, returning to their homes and huts once they passed by.

The Admiral of the massive ship remained focused, her four eyes darting around constantly, from the steering wheel, to the sails above, to their surroundings. The Otherworld was notorious for being incredibly dark, and having sudden pieces of rock jutting out from the walls that could easily rip sails or smash the hull. It wouldn't have been fair to say that Redheart had always been keeping one eye out for such hazards and avoided them all the time - there had been times where she had barely managed to pull her ship away, and others where she had nicked her sails or hull and had to return to the bay early. Sometimes these things could be ignored, like when the hull was just scratched but not pierced, but luck wasn't always so kind to the scavengers.

Behind her, worn claws clacked against the wooden deck. A deck that had been masterfully crafted by only the best, having seen many years of sailing. The deck had been walked in thousands of times, fought on, slept on, killed on, scratched, kicked, and even punched one time, and it still held up strong. Such was the quality promised by the bay's shipbuilders. It was why Admirals and Captains didn't come around easy. They had to be the best of the best, and the shipbuilders needed to perfect each creation for sailing.

"What do you want, Fauzy?" Redheart asked, not taking her eyes off the dark waters ahead even as the ship passed under a tall arch of crimson porous stone. The rough ridges of the stone arch were highlighted by the lantern hanging from the figurehead of the Seabreaker.

Next to her, Fauzy shrugged. "With all due respect, Admiral, do you even know where to go? Where this monster is going to be?" They asked, crossing their arms. It wasn't like Redheart to have no inkling of a plan, especially when it came to war. Surely she had something up in that clever head of hers.

"My idea," Redheart muttered, while she pulled the ship to the left at a fork in the current. She pointed ahead, to lights on a shore in the distance. "Is to dock there and wait for it."

Fauzy couldn't believe it. Redheart really had no plan. "Your plan is waiting?" They asked, astounded.

The Admiral at the wheel could only nod. "Yes. It is. Think about it, Fauzy. The last nine ships that went on expeditions all came back damaged. I'm pretty sure whatever is damaging out ships is seeking us out specifically."

"So you're going to risk your ship?"

"...Yes. If I have to damage the Seabreaker to stop it from killing the rest of our scavengers, then that's what I will do. The shipbuilders can always build me a new ship if mine is destroyed." Redheart called Inka over, letting the scarred first mate take over the wheel to take them to a friendly place to dock at. The Admiral pulled away, gesturing for Fauzy to follow.

"Admiral, I-" Fauzy started, but was cut off by Redheart pretty quickly.

"You don't have to call me Admiral, Fauzy. It's fine. Just say Redheart." She flicked her tail, moving on to the aft of the ship.

Fauzy huffed. Redheart it was. They just felt it was more respectful to address the dragon leading the ship as Admiral, instead of by name. Oh well, there was no arguing with Redheart. "Fine. Redheart, you're not normally like this." They stopped, grabbing Redheart's wrist to stop her too. If she could see their eyes, they'd probably be burning into her soul. "This isn't going to be a mission like Ezrila, right?"

Ezrila, what a strange Admiral she had been. While she was still alive, she was one of the most cryptic dragons in Sailfin Bay. No one ever understood her motives or her ideas. She was okay with it like that. When she had become an Admiral of her own ship, the Black Sun, she had exclusively worked with Captain Sebikos of the Starlight Voyager. Most Admirals worked with a few select Captains, so they always had one ready to go whenever they were headed to the Otherworld, but the late Admiral Ezrila only worked with Sebikos. If Sebikos was busy, she would schedule around him.

That wasn't all that was weird about Ezrila. Generally, the bay wasn't too secretive about the death of Admirals and Captains. Whatever knowledge, unless specifically asked in the will of the dead to remain a secret, was published. Motives, reasons, answers to questions were always given. However, Ezrila's death had a shrouded fog about it.

When the Admiral of the Black Sun 14 had died, the news about how she had died was published. She upgraded and modded her ship with void shards, even when not approved, and the engine of the ship had exploded, killing her. That was public knowledge by now. What wasn't known was why. Why had she asked Sebikos to pick up all her crew from the Black Sun and transfer them to the Starlight Voyager? If she had known the ship was going to explode, why didn't she go with them? Sebikos had answers, but never gave them out.

Fauzy had good reason to believe Redheart had similar intentions as to Ezrila, with the way she was acting, but they got a sharp look. "I'm not looking to intentionally destroy my ship, if that's what you're implying," The Mirror hissed. "I'm just saying if it takes leaving the Seabreaker as bait to come get it to show it's face, then I will sacrifice the ship."

With that, Redheart pulled her hand out of Fauzy's grip, turned, and brushed past them, heading down to her cabin while Inka pushed the ship into the final stretch before it reached the shore, where a flag of the scavengers had been planted by the locals to show that they were always ready to accept their Scyrian guests.