August the 13th, 304AC.
Operation: Sledgehammer, retrieve lost assets from affected soil.
SS Valiance, en route to Regalia after retrieving high-ranking members from Hadar.
SS Leroy, Celyreos Warship on its maiden voyage, protection for the Valiance.
SS Leroy, Celyreos Warship on its maiden voyage, protection for the Valiance.
The gulls are tossed paper in a storm, flashes of white in the gray, tumbling as they struggle against the gale. Beneath them, the sea rises as great mountains, anger in the form of water, turbulent and unforgiving. Beneath the ship grew an alarming rate of resurrected sea creatures, gnawing their way into the woodwork as the sailors continued to perform their roles in the poor circumstances. The SS Valiance curved through the swaying waters, smacking the ship like the hand of God as they heard an unsettling roar from the rear of the ship. Another symptom of the bone horrors, they thought. Just another monster to scratch the hull.
The SS Leroy took the lead, lightning striking across the horizon simultaneously revealed the silhouette of an island. Regalia? No, it would look far different. Shouting could be heard from both ships, bucket-loads of water being thrown outside the ship as they held on tight, waiting for the next hit from the daunting waves. If they fell in, they died. It was as simple as that. Something thudded the bottom of the Leroy, something far harder than the waves could ever muster as the shouting got louder and louder. Something had gone wrong across the water.
A creature from below had clearly startled them, the cannon began to line up towards the water as men bolted to their assigned battle positions as if a Songaskia warship had begun to open fire. The Valiance watched in awe, had their worse nightmares been a reality? Moments passed as they all waited, waiting for the next thud before they all fired simultaneously; without an idea of where it was. The SS Valiance began to move in response, attempting to peel away to gather more distance as the crew lined up their cannons. The mysterious creature lurked under their ships, this was not good.
The creature made its appearance as a rotting tail protruded from the water, smashing down into the deck of the ship as the sail collapsed off into the water. As it reached the cabin, it struck down on some highly explosive equipment used for an experimental weapon onboard; quickly blasting a hole through the ship and spitting flames across the seatop. The SS Leroy was dead in the water, alongside whoever had the misfortune of surviving that. Valiance responded quickly, firing another round into the corpse of their fallen comrade as the tail returned back into the water. One managing to hit what remained of its charred bones, sending a large crack that seemed to have no immediate effect on it. They were next.
The SS Leroy kept up with the ship, slowly grinding to a halt as the sails were burnt away and water poured into the cabin. Her maiden voyage cut short by something nobody could have predicted. It returned back to the Valiance, ramming the rear as the rudder was ripped off alongside a few vital bits of wood which began flooding the lower sections. Water rushed up the sides of the ship as their destination grew much closer. It could be seen beginning to turn around, the monster was approaching fast. It repeated the same move it had done on the Leroy, the deck of the ship crunching in as cannons fired in the last moments of the crew beneath. The SS Valiance was soon to follow the same route.
The ship charged through the mountain-like waves as they bashed against the hull, water flooding the lower cabins as time was becoming more valuable at every moment. At last, the shore was insight. In between they stood many sharp rocks, a danger yet living scarred is better than being killed by what lies beneath. As they grew closer to the shore, the rocks tore deep holes into the lower regions as the flooding got worse and worse, safety was insight. Abruptly, the ship's rear quickly lifted as the ship was nearly flipped into the shore by the creature, making its final kill. The SS Valiance made rest on the shores of Etosil, battered by the beast that lurked beneath the ocean. Yet, survivors made their way out. Hope was still existent for those who made it out, but they were just delaying the inevitable.
