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| >> Campfire Creative >> Novel >> Action/Adventure >> ID #1810556 |   |
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| [Introduction]
About the Story: Asher Gaving decides to spend the last of his inheritance on adventure and sets off to pursue the bounty on infamous pirates. His foolish mistake lands him on the deck of Captain Phoenix, leader of the ruthless all-female pirate crew. Recognizing his status, she holds him ransom, but before she can wash her hands of him, his older brother attempts to harness the power of the Okena, the ancient Sea Lords trapped by the more powerful Earth Lords, the Xantara, eons ago. Jaspen's skill is too weak and instead of harnessing the Okena, he sets them free. They want revenge on the Earth Lords and their people. Phoenix must find the Xantara, who have been missing for two thousand years and convince them to stop the Okena before they gather the power they need to lay waste to mankind. About the Characters: (new characters will be added as you create them, if needed) Captain Jana "Phoenix" - Raised on a pirate ship after the previous captain took a fancy to her as a child when her family's ship was boarded. The captain named her his heir, but the crew mutinied. She came out alive, barely, thanks to her friend Ethan at her side. No longer trusting men easily, she took on a crew of all women, rescued from battered homes and whorehouses. Ethan- Another orphan rescued by the captain and serving as the captain's cabin boy when Jana was taken in. He was treated harsher than Jana, but still remains devoted to her. He serves as her first mate aboard her ship, the only male allowed on board. He never took a liking to piracy, but he won't leave Jana's side. Asher Gaving- Second son to a wealthy merchant lord, Asher is set for life, but discontent. He squanders most of his inheritance on random life pursuits, never sticking with any one. He takes the last bit of his inheritance, planning to become a bounty hunter and pursue notorious pirates. Jaspen Gaving- Oldest son to a wealthy merchant lord, Jaspen has spent most of his life studying and preparing to take over his father's empire. He constantly seeks ways to improve the trade he inherited and accidentally unleashes the power of the Oscani, the sea lords. About the Setting: This story is set in an alternative reality. Create countries and kingdoms and ports and cultures as you see fit, but technology has not advanced much past our 14th/15th century, with some areas more advanced than others. Canons and handguns are used, but both require extensive reloading, so sword and knife play will be the main fighting. Magic also exists, but it is not common. There are not wizards and sorcerers running around, nor is anyone born with magic. Instead, extensive study allows you the knowledge of how to manipulate energies around you. Superstitious items, such as charms, have their own magic as they are created by those who understand the magic, and the knowledge passed down in such a way one can mimic them with very little study. Do with that what you will. Religion varies, but one ancient religion (that few practice) teaches about the Okena and the Xantara, treating them as angels and devils respectively. Eons ago, the Okena and Xantara lived side by side with their people, until a fight erupted among them. War ravaged both people, earthborn and seaborn, until the Xantara succeeded in imprisoning the Okena. The Okena people (merfolk) went crazy and are believed to have died out, while the Xantara people (humans) flourished in the new life. Over time, the Xantara (not immortals, a sect that study and pass along powerful knowledge), withdrew from the rest of mankind. I tried finding some online information about schooners (the type of ship our pirates inhabit). If you find anything useful yourself, please feel free to share. For now, here's a few links to hopefully help you out:  Currently accepting writers. If you're interested, send a review, email, IM, etc. I'll add you. You have 3 days to make your addition, when it's your turn, before I skip you, so be sure you can participate!
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 Sarah Rae  (Seven years ago)Jana panted as she clutched the amulet hanging around her neck. The thin bone within the amber was said to be from a merfolk, but she put little stock in such superstitions, despite being raised by seafaring men. She dragged the supplies toward her, hands shaking as she tried to pour the coarse gunpowder into the barrel of her pistol. "We're winning," Ethan said as he ducked behind the railing at her side and reached for his own supplies. "Only because of you," Jana said, ramming the narrow rod down the barrel and taking the moment to peer over the railing. "They've organized since they began, though. It's going to be harder to stop them and they have all the food. All they have to do is wait." The rows of barrels were silent. The ship's entire water and food supplies laid out as a barrier. Galler, the firstmate, had killed half the crew when they refused to join his mutiny. Only Ethan stumbling upon a few of them attempting to raid the weapon's cabinet had kept the bulk of the ammunition out of their hands. They had more shots, but less people, giving them equal footing. Twenty-four men down. Twenty-four men she had spent the past thirteen years with, on the ground, bleeding, dead or dying. Jana fell back against the railing again, wincing as the movement jostled her shoulder. The torn pieces of Ethan's shirt stemmed the worst of the bullet graze, but it was already more red then white. Her head felt too light, her arms too weak. She didn't dare tell Ethan. Twenty-four men down, thirteen to go. She raised herself over the edge of the railing. Shouts sounded as the men on the shore noticed her dark-hair instead of Ethan's red hair. "Steady men," someone shouted. Jana gulped. They wouldn't fire until her entire head was in view and they'd have more time to aim than she would. She whispered a prayer to the uncaring gods and rose all the way. Three heads bobbed into view and she aimed at one, not daring to recognize the face, and pulled the trigger, ducking as she heard an echo of her own gunshot. She heard a man scream and others shout. "He's down, he's down." Again, Jana shut her eyes, touching the amulet resting against her breast. Captain Meldesh had probably foreseen this when he'd placed the captain's right around her neck, but he knew he could not trust any of the other men with his ship. At least, those were the words he whispered in his final moments. Why he chose a nineteen year old girl as his heir, she couldn't say. Just as she couldn't say what caused him to spare her life thirteen years ago, when he and his pirate crew slaughtered the rest of the people on her father's merchant ship, a voyage she and her mother just happened to accompany him for. Thirteen years as the captain's pet, more or less. As a child, she'd been seen as little more than a dog, underfoot but harmless. Problem's started as she became unable to hide her maturing figure, but Ethan's constant presence and his skill with his knives kept it from ever progressing beyond verbal abuses. She remembered begging Meldesh to leave her ashore with enough gold to make her way, but he always talked her out of it. She never pressed, because deep down she doubted she could ever feel as complete as she did on the sea. Ethan fired his shot and ducked again at her side. "Two more down," he said. "I got Galler." Galler. The name sent a surge of hatred coursing through Jana. Meldesh promoted him to first mate only because he could get the crew to listen to him. But he was vicious. He'd been her biggest tormentor. Ethan had his own grudge, a pink scar along his jaw where Galler had gotten him when he'd found Galler attempting to pin Jana in a corner. Jana's cheeks flooded with an angry blush as she remembered that night. It was the first time she truly feared the men she had spent her life with. It was the first time she realized being female made her an object of more than ridicule. Jana turned her head toward Ethan, the only friend she had left. "We're going to make it, right?" Ethan flashed her a grin, but she saw the doubt flickering in his gaze. "That shoulder looks bad," he said. "It's fine," she lied. He didn't call her on it. Jana lifted her reloaded pistol and braced herself for another moment perched on the edge of death's kingdom. Twenty-six men down. Eleven to go. PuppyTales  "You're an idiot, Asher." Asher bit his lip to keep from responding. He remained where he was, staring out the door of his home, at the long winding road to... somewhere. It was still early, and a chilly morning breeze gently whipped at his clothing. "You're a child!" Asher tightened his grip on the shoulder straps of his bag. He hesitated, then the grimace he wore spread into a grin. He turned and faced his older brother. Jaspen had walked quietly walked up behind him. He stood ten feet away, shoulders square, arms crossed, scowling. "Father would be ashamed of you!" It was the third of the insults three, the list Jaspen regularly repeated to Asher in hopes of fixing his little brother. "Yeah, I suppose he would," muttered Asher. The proud smile never left his face. "And so, I've made up my mind. You are-" "-going to leave," finished Asher for him. His grin widened and he let out a bitter laugh. "I don't want you to leave, I want-" "Me to make something of myself? To be like you and Father? Well." Asher didn't want to admit the guilt he felt. That he truly wished he was more like his brother and his father. "I'll prove you both wrong." The bitterness left his expression. He had an old familiar glint in his eye now, the look Asher always had when he came up with some new scheme. He had gotten Jaspen in trouble so many times when the two were boys- and that smirk always preceded the trouble. Jaspen frowned worriedly. "Asher, I-" Asher's interruption this time wasn't in the form of words. He slipped out the handgun he bought the day before, the hulking piece of metal heavy in his right hand. He pointed it in the air and squeezed the trigger. The roar of the gun was deafening in the silence of the early morning. Jaspen flinched. "Like it?" Asher asked. He turned around and marched out the door, toward what he knew had to be his destiny. "It's a bounty hunter's weapen, Jaspen," he called behind him cheerfully, raising his voice as the distance increased. Jaspen never moved. "There can't be too much to bounty hunting, right?" © Copyright 2011 Sarah Rae, PuppyTales, (known as GROUP). All rights reserved. GROUP has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work. |
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