Stormborn

When the storm comes, don’t run for cover.

            The trees shook and the houses creaked on the small coastal village. Storms were a regular occurrence for the people who lived by the ocean, every year there were a number of storm that made everything shake and tremble and every year the village lasted.

            Joseph was a young man who had seen his share of storms but that night a storm blew in like nothing he had seen. The storm covered the sky in every direction, it stirred up the ocean all the way to the horizon, all of the animals fled hours before it every appeared and all that remained were humans who thought they could out last the end of the world.

            Thunder boomed like a shouting voice and lighting cracked like arrows from the gods striking the land. Joseph was in awe of it all. He cursed himself for not leaving when he had the chance. He had been hiding with the rest of the village but the longer the waiting the larger the storm grew. It grew larger and larger until it looked like it would swallow the world. By the time Joseph realized how bad it was, it was already too late to run and too severe a storm to hide.

            The wind whipped through the village like a giant ghostly hammer crashing into homes and trees. Trees that stood for hundreds of years broke by the sheer force of the storm. Joseph walked out into the storm as his family pleaded for him to stay. He had made peace with his end and if he was to die he would die standing and watching the destructive force of nature rather than die hiding in a basement.

            Joseph couldn’t actually stand up in the storm but his point still stood even if he couldn’t.

            Lighting sizzled through the clouds and the thunder was so loud it was deafening. Joseph had never seen such a spectacle and was satisfied with his decision. He clung to the edge of a broken house as the wind tore through. Then lighting struck one last time for Joseph and then only darkness.

            Death comes for us all, both the brave and the fearful.

 Some would prefer to hide, some would rather look death in the face.

            That was end of Joseph the man but the beginning of the Stormborn.

Jaye Williams and the dangerous road

Jaye Williams stood surrounded by a gang of bandits, each one with a weapon branished. The hood of Jaye's dark blue cloak covered his eyes as he looked down at the floor to concentrate. "You sure you wont reconsider?" Jaye said in a low voice. "You aren't getting out of this alive. anyone who stands in our way ends up dead in the dust" Said the leader of the gang. A merchant with a sweet top hat stood terrified behind Jaye. "T-thank you for stepping in to help me, but now we are both dead" The Merchant said.

"Enough!" Jaye shouted, his voice echoed through the air like a clap of thunder. "Stand back, I got Wizard shit to do" Jaye said to Merchant.

Electricity began to sizzled in the air around Jaye as he slowly walked closer to the leader of the bandits. "You'd think more people would run from the guy surrounded by lighting" Jaye said to the bandit leader. The leader gestured to his men, who then switched their melee weapons out for crossbows. Each bandit shot their crossbow bolt at Jaye. the shots were fired from different directions and were impossible to block and were moving too fast to dodge. Jaye sighed when he heard the crossbows fire. Electricty jumped from the air and struck each crossbow bolt, striking them each mid air. The Crossbow bolts were reduced to harmless dust. Jaye looked up with electricity radiating out of his eyes. "this is the part where you run" He said with a cocky smile.

two bandits ran away leaving the bulk to stupidly charge the wizard. "Come on lads he can't hit all of us" Shouted the leader. Jaye sighed and held up his hands, pointing them at the on coming bandits. Lighting magic gathered in his palms as the electricity in the air leapt out and shocked the bandits as they drew closer to to the wizard. The lighting shield that filled the air wasn't enough to stop the bandits so Jaye had to use a little more energy than he cared to use. "Thunderbolt!" Jaye shouted, releasing energing up into the sky. Clouds formed around the bandits and lighting struck down on all of the bandits, each bandit had a bolt just for them. Lighting struck the bandits, then Jaye snapped his fingers and the clouds flashed and sent down smaller bolts that followed the path of the first bolts. "I think I've finally mastered the timing on that spell" Jaye said with a big smile.
The bandits were all rendered unconcious or paralyzed from the lighting. "You are lucky you caught me in a good mood" Jaye said as he began to walk away. The Merchant was trembling but seemed relieved. "The gods look kindly down on me to have sent a wizard to my aid" Said the merchant. "I don't know about all of that, but I am glad you are safe. Also I like your hat. Give it to me" Jaye said. "W-what?" Said the Merchant. "Listen I am not robbing you or anything, but I did just save your life and your gold from bandits, I will take that sweet hat as payment" Jaye replied. "Anything you wish, sir" Said the merchant as he removed his hat and gave it to Jaye Williams.
Jaye Williams let out an excited laugh as he put on the hat. it was a black top hat with an orange feather stuck in the brim. "Joseph would love this" Jaye said fondly. "Look out!" cried the merchant. Jaye turned around just in time to see an arrow flying toward his head. He ducked and the arrow shot through his new hat and pulled it off of his head. The bandit leader was not only still alive but tenacious enough to fire a shot at Jaye when his back was turned.

"Bad decision" Jaye said with clenched teeth "SHOCKER!" Jaye shouted. a giant bolt of lighting split open the skies, ripped through the clouds and hit the bandit leader. The blast shook the ground, brightened up the air and made a loud boom that could be heard for miles. When the dust settled the bandit leader was a skeleton stuck in the position of a man holding a bow and arrow.
Jaye turned around to get his hat and noticed the Merchant had run off. Jaye pulled the arrow out of his hat, dusted it off and placed it back on his head. He was tired from traveling, his mana was drained and he was getting tired of traveling alone.

Jaye continued down the road, his journey dragged on. Jaye's feet grew tired of walking and his eyes were tired of staying open. "Its been a long day" Jaye said with a sigh. Night crept in and Jaye was still miles from a town. "I should have asked for more than a hat" Grumbled Jaye, who was hungry, tired and needed a serious sugar fix to restore his mana.

Jaye Williams was dead on his feet when he heard rustling of bushes and a swordman emerge from the shadows. Jaye didnt have the energy to fight another enemy. Thinking back he realized he shouldn't have used such a powerful spell to take out one enemy bandit. Jaye's vision focused on the swordsman and realized it was his friend Joseph Stephens. Jaye stumbled forward with his eyes half closed. "Great, its you. And I was having such a good day, then you decide to show up" Jaye said with a big smile on his face. The last thing Jaye saw before passing out was his friend Joseph with a matching smile.

The winds of Zephyr

It was a cool and breezy evening in a little port town. Fishermen were bringing in their haul for the day and taverns were stoking fires and preparing food and drink for a night of regular customers and travelers looking to rest. It was the perfect night to sit outside with a cup of coffee or mug of ale and watch the ocean.

            A little boy named Henry was out on the docks waiting for his father to come home when he spotted a strange ship in the horizon. The ship was as large as a navy battleship but instead of the kingdom seal, the flag was black with a bloody skull image. The dark ship marked the peaceful landscape as it sailed closer to shore. A dark storm was growing and following in the trail of the dreaded black flag ship. Henry knew the men on the ship were pirates and not the fun kind that go on adventures. Henry ran into the house to tell his father and word spread quickly of the approaching pirate ship.

            The pirate ship sailed so quickly toward the town that it looked as if Zephyr, the god of the winds was carrying them to shore. The town prepared what weapons they had and tried to fortify the docks. The town had been at peace for so long that they were not ready for a pirate invasion. The harder the townspeople worked the more they realized how unprepared they truly were. Within an hour the pirates were almost upon them and the dark storm was already overhead. Thunder boomed and the lighting crashed around. Visible bolts struck the water around the pirate ship as it approached. The townspeople were so overwhelmed by the attack and it hadn’t even happened yet. Surly the pirates were closer to demons than they were mortal men. The town would be reduced to ash and no one in the town would ever be heard from again, nor their bodies ever found.

            The dread ship was so close that the pirates could be seen from shore. The pirates weren’t cheering for blood with swords ready, they were fleeing the storm. Terror could be seen in the faces and eyes of all above deck, the storm was chasing them and refused to let up. a bolt of lighting shot down from the sky and struck the ship. A loud crack and bang were heard, sounding like an explosion. The sound of wood being bent and broken followed up next, then the screams of pirates as they fled into the water. Electricity poured from the clouds and crashed into the ship. The townspeople looked on in horror as they saw what they thought was the wrath of god. The electricity spread out along the breaking and splintering wood and resembled a giant hand.

            After ten minutes of lighting pounding the pirate ship and unrelenting strikes on the water, the storm began to calm and the skies cleared up. The storm vanished from the sky and that remained were dead pirates and broken ship pieces. The boy Henry spotted a man washed up on the shore and he was breathing. While the pirates wore black and red and were covered in weapons and tattoos, this man looked more like a sailor or a person that might live in that very town. He was pale and had black hair that came down to his eyes, he had a long navy blue coat that looked weather resistant, sturdy black boots and black workers gloves. The townspeople helped him onto dry land and he was take to the local tavern. It was agreed that he was most likely a prisoner of the pirates and that he could be trusted, but should still be watched.

            The man had twenty feet of chain stashed inside of his long coat, a large sharp hook, two stone jars engraved with mystical runes, various tiny bottles of herbs and exotic ingredients, a flintlock pistol, a pouch of gold coins and a small sailor’s knife.

The townspeople were a little startled by all of the strange items in the man’s coat, but they insisted on making him comfortable while he recovered from his injuries. They had many questions for him and figured that he would be less likely to answer them if he woke up in the local jailhouse.

            The man started to wake up, he found himself in a warm bed, near a crackling fire. The injured man has sparkling blue eyes like the sea after a storm. He tried to stand but felt too weak. The mayor of the village came into the house to greet the injured man. The mayor had a handlebar mustache, brown eyes and gray hair. “Hello, son. Can you speak? My name is mayor Gustav. Who are you?” Asked the Mayor. “My name is Isaac” Said the injured man before passing out.

            The mysterious Isaac survived being held by pirates and lived through a overwhelming storm that killed all the pirates aboard. The townspeople had so many questions and hoped that he had the answers.