BATTLE!

   Battle is chaos; fleet battles even more so. Fireballs and lightning flew back and forth. I even fell unconscious once. Thankfully, Ingrid sent a shot of healing my way. Unbelievably, Aerathor swings over to Sorren's ship and nearly single-handedly disables it with dynamite. Eventually, Sorren makes his way onboard and the Captain confronts him face-to-face. She is finally able to shove him off the ship, marooning him on some flotsam from his destroyed ship, keeping his hat as a trophy (and hopefully evidence for his bounty). Sadly, the Blade has taken enough damage that we will have to find repairs before we continue following the sextant.

TWO

   Thankfully, my friends were able to prevail in the battle and revive me. As She says, "no island floats alone." We are all dependent upon the people and the world around us. As it should be.

    I have received a letter from Sister Isolde. Upon her return to the temple with our notes, she joined the research effort -- specifically about aetherite crystal. It would seem that the Adversary Fragment that we most recently battled exists because of the aetherite. Aetherite relates to the spires, which their research seems to confirm are at the very least related to the Adversary (as Hector claims in his writing). Aetherite seems to have some level of sentience; it doesn't merely attract aether, it attracts AND repels subservient to some will. She also notes that the notorious pirate Sorren Starcaster is roving in an area somewhat near where we are. 

   As I sit on the deck, the Storm Lord Zephyr manifests herself! Even more incredibly, she addresses ME! She scoffs at my quest. Not just at my dedication, but to the very IDEA of reuniting the world. She is aware of the letters we have found, but has no interest in them. I, of course, am not swayed. Soon, The One ALSO manifests! These are not just visions, incidentally, they are physically manifest for all the crew to see. They argue for a bit, as they obviously do not see eye to eye. Zephyr, naming me Champion of The One, offers a prize to the captain to duel me, but thankfully, she seems uninterested in doing so. She also calls me weak, but I know that defending others is the epitome of strength. After She leaves, The One commiserates that the two of them don't get along. But that is no surprise to me. "The storm is always chaos, and rarely welcoming." Oof! Two deities arguing at me! If this keeps up, I'm going to start feeling important.

   Apart from her tattoos, the captain has been hiding a black spot curse. She is persuaded to disclose it to the party. From what we know, atonement will slow, halt, and with enough, even reverse the effects of the curse, which are beginning to be significant. She says merely, "you cannot bring people back from the dead." She seems resigned to a painful demise, but atonement is not merely (or even commonly) an undoing. It's a payment -- usually not back, but forward. Mimi suggest maybe the captain could adopt a child. After that is answered with a glare, I say simply, "atonement is always a path that can be chosen." Captain asks Mimi how much truth she can handle. Her reply is "I would prefer to help save you than let you die like you seem to want to." In response, the captain reveals enough of her tattoo to be recognized, and Mimi lapses into an uncomfortable silence.

   In any case, we have a new heading from the sextant, and we continue on our way. As our luck would have it, our trail takes us right into the path of Sorren Starcaster. We make our way to weapons, as the captains communicate. Starcaster seems to be stalling for the time to get his smaller ships into position around us, but I don't particularly like that idea. We fire as soon as they're in range, and the battle has commenced!

I Have Failed You

 When last I wrote, Aerathor was aiding 3 newcomers in neutralizing the basilisk threat. Under his direction, they lured both out the center cave mouth, and reflected their gazes back upon them. Suddenly, a THIRD comes from the far right mouth! Luckily, they were able to shuffle their reflective shield around to stop that one as well. That definitely bodes well for our exit.

In the back of the cave, our quartet heads further in and soon spot a giant floating aether crystal. Proximity to it dims my perception of The One, so I back off. Then, a strange floating tentacled monster appears between us and the crystal, and fires a beam of purple energy at the captain. She goes underwater, trying to approach it stealthily, so I advance slowly to hold its attention. It says only one word: "flourish." Cap and I both advance. Some globule creatures and some floating crystal prisms materialize and I realize that there are wall-tentacles that will likely be able to attack from the sides. I attempt to read the mind of our adversary -- it is thinking about consuming this world and moving on to another. She speaks to me briefly and tells me that this adversary is a manifestation of The Great Adversary! I brace for a shot from the creature, but it does not come from the expected direction. It fires at an angle, and refracts through the floating crystals back and forth across the cavern. I have time for only one thought as it hits me. My Lady, I have failed You.