Brian Rathbone - Regent

"This time will be different," Catrin said. "This time I will go alone."

"But you could be facing dangers far worse than those in the past."

"True," Catrin said. "I am not as well prepared as I would have liked, but I have done everything within my power to get ready for this, and now I must simply let the bones fall where they may." Instantly Catrin regretted her choice of words. No one else seemed willing to speak in the silence that followed. "Please. Just take me to the place where you dropped me last time. I'll either be fine or I won't, but staying aboard this ship will not accomplish whatever it is I'm here to do. Now I just need to get on with it."

Members of the crew approached her one at a time, each in his or her own way and only when ready. Catrin had known them since she was a teenager; she loved them like family, and to many of them, she was an adopted daughter. To have their love and respect meant the world to Catrin, and their words bolstered her confidence. If these brave and talented men and women believed in her, then surely she could believe in herself, even if she did face an impossible task: win a battle that would take place at a time and place beyond her knowing. Her only choice was to surrender to fate and hope that her knowledge and power would sustain her. It must have shown in her eyes, given the respect she got from the crew. Even those who had nearly died for her cause in the past looked at her with new eyes, as if they only now saw her true potential and sacrifice.

It was good that these things propped up Catrin's confidence as the next moment brought pure chaos.

Like a flock of birds launched from a shaken tree, dragons appeared all at once and, within moments, filled the air around the ship. Battle centered on the Slippery Eel. Ferals dived in to attack, and regents flew in defense. It was impossible to believe the ferocity and power of their attacks; even one strike would likely kill the entire crew of the Slippery Eel. If not for the regent dragons, their greenish scales glinting in the sunlight, the Eel would have been lost.

Kyrien was nowhere to be seen. Catrin would have been able to pick him out of the chaos with her eyes closed, and she longed to find him and communicate with him, but her calls remained unanswered.

Crouching and shying away from another monstrous collision, Catrin thought the sound of dragons fighting might be the most frightening part of all. Not only did their growls make the air tremble and their screams inflict physical pain, the sound of their armored bodies slamming together was something Catrin thought no creature should ever have to hear.

"Full sail!" Kenward shouted. "Get this ship out of the water! We need to get out of here."

No one hesitated or questioned Kenward's words. His command gave them purpose and something to distract them from the horror that was taking place around them.

"Look out!" was all the warning anyone got before a pair of twined dragons struck the ship. Locked in a battle to the death, the two flailed and rolled, taking part of the rigging into the sea with them before disappearing under the waves. Had it not been a glancing blow, they'd already be sunk. Kenward was right; they needed to move.

Raising her arms to the sky, Catrin reached for the comets, and to her absolute shock, they felt a thousand years away, as if they had suddenly been flung back into the darkness. One look at Pelivor showed that he was experiencing a similar horror. Looking up, Catrin saw an unnaturally dark cloud blocking their views of the heavens. Like a stain on the sky, it roiled above them, sometimes lit from within by webs of lightning. The hair on Catrin's neck stood as she realized there was a filament of energy extending from her head and the ship and reaching up to the clouds above. Time was running out.

Denied direct access to the comets, Catrin reached to the air around her. Pelivor did the same and was soon trying to generate enough lift to get them out of the water. Catrin did her best to focus on providing thrust. Farsy watched from nearby with a glint in his eye, and Catrin smiled at him despite their peril. Under her direction, he had modified the tube of wood, changing the shape of the inner surface so it opened more at the entrance and remained more constricted midway along its length. The changes reduced the strength and stability of the wood, and Catrin could now feel it trembling as she forced air through. A low whistle began, and as they moved faster, it grew in volume and pitch. Over a steeper wave, the hull left the water, lurching suddenly to one side as a feral came at them unblocked until the very last moment.

The whistling continued to grow louder, and Catrin applied as much energy as she thought was safe. Again the crew had to trim the sails as their speed increased. Before they were even finished, the rigging began to vibrate, and the wind tore at the crew. Staying low to the water, they skimmed along as fast as they were able. Above, the skies were far too dangerous, and the Slippery Eel, even with Catrin and Pelivor in control, was no match for a feral dragon in open air.

"At least the water makes it hurt really bad when they miss," Kenward said. "We need to get through the harbor and into the river valley. Then there won't be room for many of these beasts in the air above us."

"Sails ahead, sir- What the-? Sir! "

It didn't take long for Catrin to see what the lookout had seen or for Kenward to start cursing. Thorakis's sailors seemed to be learning new things at an alarming rate. Hovering above the water came a formation of ships linked together by blood red lightning. The ships appeared equidistant from one another and flew as a single unit. Standing at the prow of the lead ship was a tall man in long robes, his arms cast out to the sides, lightning flowing from his hands and into the deck itself. Dark paint made him look like the demons that wandered his decks. Again these Gholgi-like abominations would haunt Catrin, and she watched in horror as similarly dressed men emerged on the prow of every ship in the array. When they raised their hands, a new web of power sprang into the air, joining over the lead ship, focusing, and splitting the air toward the Slippery Eel .

Catrin banked the ship to the right, accelerated, then slowed. White heat seared the air but went wide.

"Higher!" Kenward ordered.

Catrin and Pelivor did as he said. No sooner had they gained open air than a feral locked on to them. A pair of regents gave chase, but this feral was bigger and faster than most of the others. Closing the gap to the Slippery Eel and leaving the regents behind, the feral made it clear it wasn't going to give up easily. Dividing her attention, Catrin reached back out to the comets, and as the Eel moved out from under the dread cloud, the comets answered, flooding her with energy. The ship whistled as she pushed for more speed, but she wasn't certain the Eel could take much more. Instead she focused part of her mind on building up a charge and sending a finger of lightning back at the charging feral. The lightning connected, and in that instant, she felt small and insignificant. The will of the feral washed over her. None of what was going on around her seemed to exist; all that mattered was avoiding the wrath of the lord of the night.

Lost in his rapidly approaching eyes, Catrin watched, entranced.

"Why are we slowing?"

The voices were distant and meaningless. Nothing could be more important than what she was doing, of that she was certain.

"Catrin! Wake up!" Kenward shouted as he shook her.

It took Catrin a moment to realize where she was and what was happening, but then it all rushed back at once and nearly caused her to swoon. In the meantime the feral had drawn closer, and the sight of him sent Catrin scrambling to get them moving fast again. What lead they had was now lost, and the dragon would almost certainly catch them. The regents in pursuit flew in what looked like desperation as they climbed higher and higher. Watching as they disappeared into the clouds, Catrin's hope faded.