Brilliant flashes accompanied by powerful, earsplitting crashes of thunder rattled and ripped through the sky. The thunder pierced the ears of the crew, driving knives of white hot fire into their skulls with relentless intensity.

                Lightning, tinged red with closeness, lit the boiling purple-grey clouds for an instant and darkness was thrust upon the sea again as it had countless times before in the last two days since the tempest struck.

                The wind suddenly died and Oros could be heard for the first time screaming orders at the crew.

                "Bring the fore stay sail down! Bring it down!" Quicker than would have been thought possible the rouge sail, the only one they hadn't managed to bring down before the first winds slammed into the ship, was brought in.

                The wind renewed with strength enough to knock the crew over. The sheet flew from the hands of Lendethiel, Talf, and Morien knocking them over and flying over the chaotic sea, twisting and turning crazily in the air as the wind bore it far away.

                Oros shouted a string of wild, passionate abuse at the three, but even his booming voice was snatched from his mouth and lost forever. With the sail now gone the ship steadied from its wild plunging and swaying somewhat.

                A massive wave loomed less than one-hundred meters away, swiftly approaching the White Raider. Fendwall roared as he strained against the wheel, using every ounce of his great power to hold the ship in a northward course.

                Up, up, up, and up the ship rose. Higher and higher until she began sliding backward, pulled back into the trench. Despair filled the crew as they realized what was happening. If the ship slipped back into the trench the wave would crash down on top of her, smashing her hull to splinters.

                "Lower the main sail!" Oros bellowed. "She'll pull us through!" He made a quick hand motion that was noticed by most of the crew.

                "Are you insane?" Fendwall shouted. He was the only one near enough to Oros to hear the captain. "The mast'll snap!"

                "Better a mast then the whole ship! Bank to starboard side. We'll ride the wind up this beast."

                Fendwall heaved on the wheel, Oros helped by nearly hanging off the wheel, using his full body weight to turn it. The main sail snapped open with a crack. The White Raider jerked forward with a groan. Fendwall was thrown into the wheel, bruising his ribs against the hard wood layered over iron. The mast groaned ominously and began fracturing

                The ship climbed up and over the wave, cresting with a massive spray that drenched the already half drowned crew.

                "Hang on!" Oros shouted as they plunged downward. Everyone grabbed the nearest solid and anchored object they could reach, for many it was only the rope attached to the mast that held them to the ship should they be cast overboard.

                They hit the bottom and instantly a second, smaller wave, crashed over the deck sweeping the crew to the side. Fendwall and Oros clung stubbornly to the wheel, refusing to give the storm control over their ship.

                Oros watched worridly as his crew picked themselves up slowly. Drida and Brandt didn't move for several breathless seconds. Adrahil stumbled over to Brandt and shook his shoulder violently. Brandt coughed up a mouthful of water and shuddered. Drida groaned and rolled to her feet. She gingerly picked her way across the heaving deck back to her post. Adrahil helped Brandt to his feet.

                "Secure the mainsail!" Oros ordered once he was sure everyone was alive still. More hand signals followed. Another wave smashed the deck, eliciting the same results from the crew, only this time they all rose immediately.

                Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the mainsail was brought back and lashed securely to the gaff just as another gust of wind howled by, forcing the crew to crouch down against its strength. Fendwall relinquished control of the ship to Oros and wrapped his bleeding and blistered hands in cloth. He'd long ago become numb to the pain radiating from his hands when saltwater splashed over them. He leaned against the railing, pressing his arm firmly against his bruised side.

                A commotion at the bow of the ship caught his attention. He quickly made his way over, as only one who has spent many years at sea and has known every weather could. Rain, freezing and penetrating, slapped his bare skin and hammered dully against his fur coat, which retained most of his body heat in this weather.

                Dahari and Morien were fighting. Again. Fury exploded in Fendwall, he didn't have time for this. None of them did. He didn't know why, but the two of them couldn't see past what grievances they held against the other.

                Fendwall roared wordlessly. Even above the thunderous storm he could be heard and everyone paused for a second. Dahari immediately tried to pull away, but Morien, blind with rage refused to stop.

                Fendwall grabbed his shoulders and threw him to the side, he shoved Dahari away as well, but didn't dare do anything more. The Elf unnerved him in more ways than one. He didn't understand him. Morien, Fendwall understood.

                "What in the blitherin' blue blazes do you think you're doin'?" Fendwall shouted. The storm seemed to fall quiet, as if it feared the first mate's wrath. Morien stood, rage seething from his stocky frame. He pointed condemningly at Dahari.

                "He tried untyin' my anchor line," Morien accused. Fendwall turned to the Elf, squinting his eyes against the driving rain.

                "That true?"

                The wind began to pick up again.

                "You're knots were sloppy," Dahari said to Morien. "They were coming undone."

                Fendwall glanced at Morien's anchor and saw that it was indeed sloppy, careless work. Glaring at them both he ordered Morien to fix his own anchor and told Dahari to keep away from Morien.

                "And if he won't keep away?" Dahari asked. There was a strange undertone in his voice that made Fendwall glance at him sharply, but the Elf's face was blank.

                "Throw him overboard and let 'im dangle."

...

                Impossibly the storm grew in strength over the next hour, so much so that two of the crew members collapsed. Drida had been sent below deck after hitting her head on the mast when a wave swept them to the side. Caston, the poor rat, had simply collapsed from exhaustion, woefully unused to the physical demands of a ship as he was. The rest struggled bravely on, fighting the raging storm with all the willpower they harbored.

                Es, stuck below deck for much of the storm's duration, had been put in charge of distributing food to the exhausted crew. Every few minutes she appeared above deck, rushing toward the nearest person with little morsels of cold meat and rain-soaked bread and slightly salty water.

                On her last run she spied Morien crouching next to the anchor lines, checking each one thoroughly and tightening those that were loose. She passed him his food and crouched next to the mast while he wolfed it down in rapid bites.

                He handed the empty cup back to her with a curt nod and rose. Es dashed back to where she had come from. She was barely halfway to relative safety when she heard a shout.

                "Incoming!"

                She felt strong hands grab her waist just as a wave crashed over the deck, sweeping her and her savior aside. She was wrenched from their hands and pushed overboard by the water.

...

                Fendwall had shouted the warning cry moments before the wave wreaked havoc, giving Dahari enough time to grab Es. He had been less than ten feet away from her and reached her just in time, but the wave proved too powerful for him and she was ripped away.

                Adrahil and Dahari were swept overboard, both clinging desperately to their anchor lines. But where Adrahil stopped, swinging wildly on the side of the ship, his arm tangled in the line, Dahari did not. In that instant Fendwall realized something had gone very wrong as the cold Elf followed Es into the sea.

                "Drop the sea anchor! Men overboard!" Fendwall roared. He knew it wouldn't reach the bottom, but it would slow their momentum enough to hopefully allow them to rescue Dahari and Es. Surprisingly it was Morien who, unaided, dropped the anchor into the water.

                "Get a rope!" Fendwall shouted. Qrow dashed around frantically searching for a rope. Brandt handed him one and ran off to haul a screaming Adrahil onto the deck. Much of the skin on Adrahil's arm had been ripped off when he became tangled in the rope. A mixture of rain, salt water, and blood ran down his heavily damaged arm and stained his shirt.

                Oros struggled to hold the ship under control while the crew rushed to the aid of the Es and Dahari. Fendwall snatched the rope from Qrow and braced himself against the side of the ship. Estella, Qrow, Calen, and Livian, and Talf stood behind him ready to help in any way.

...

                When Dahari hit the water it hurt as much as he had expected. He hit back first and the air exploded from his lungs and then he felt it, like the crack of a whip across bare skin. It burned like fire. He went under, not daring to breathe however his lungs screamed for air.

                He clawed for the surface. He scarcely had time to breathe when he broke through when another wave pushed him back down. His anchor line tangled around his legs, preventing him from using them to reach the surface. Fingers numb with cold, he fumbled with the knot at his waist. With a quick trick he had learned years ago he cast off the rope and swam to the surface.

                Above him he could hear frantic shouting. There was a splash and the ship suddenly careened to the right. Adrahil dangled over the railing screaming in pain.

                Es! Dahari suddenly remembered the cheeky bright-eyed halfling. He glanced around him quickly, looking for any sign of life. Not far off he saw Es thrashing wildly as the waves swept her up and down and farther and farther away from the ship.

                "Help!" she screamed shrilly. She choked when a wave slapped her in the face and screamed again. Fighting the waves, Dahari swam to her, but, with each pulse of the water rising up like a large hill, Es was carried further away from the ship.

                Seconds passed like hours as Es' cried for help grew weaker and her efforts to stay afloat lessened.

                "Es!" Dahari shouted. Es' little brown head slipped under the surface. Dahari dove and reached out with his long arms. The tips of his fingers brushed against her head. He surface, breathed, and dove again. Water filled his ears, his nose, and mouth. Grabbing es under the arms he pulled her to the surface, but as soon as they reached air, before either of them could breathe, a wave slammed down on their heads and sent them tumbling deep into the sea.

                Reeling from the crash and so disoriented from the turning and rolling of the sea Dahari did not know which was up or down. He clamped his hand over Es' mouth and nose to keep her from breathing in the water and kicked toward what he thought was the surface.

                His chest burned and when he finally broke free and opened his eyes his vision was nearly black. Gasping for air that had never been so sweet he swam back to the ship, but each stroke was harder than the last. The effort to keep himself and Es above the water and keep moving forward was quickly tiring him. The ocean had proved itself a tireless foe again and again and this time would be no different.

                He and Es might have died then and there if it wasn't for Fendwall's quick thinking. Realizing that the rope on its own would never reaching them he tied a large iron ring around one end and threw it toward them.

                It landed just a few feet away from Dahari. New life flowed into his limbs when he realized what had caused the splash. He grasped the rope and clung to it. With one arm clinging to the lifeline and the other holding Es tightly to his chest he slowly began to move toward the ship as Fendwall, Estella, Talf, and Qrow all heaved on the line.

                Es coughed and opened her eyes for the first time since she went under. She screwed her eyes shut again and clung to Dahari's chest, sobbing in fear. They rose out of the water and into open air. Dahari gritted his teeth as all his weight and Es' was put on one arm.

                They were at the mercy of the wind. Back and forth they swung like a pendulum while the wind ripped through their clothing and froze their already cold skin. A wave rose up and slammed them against the hull. Dahari curled his body around Es, shielding much of the impact from her.

                He hit the hull with a grunt and a loud thud even Oros at the helm heard.

                "Faster!" Fendwaall ordered. "Get them out of there before they're smashed to pieces." Livian and Calen joined him and the others and for one hopeful instant the rope sped upward as the rain pelted down, lightning flashed red-hot, and thunder shook the sky.

                Fendwall glanced up and his courage quailed. A wave of monstrous size raced toward them. Its crest rose twice the height of the White Raider. Evily green it stared down at the little wooden crafted with untempered malice and hatred for all things.

                Oros had fallen silent, his ever-present shouting faltered. Fear entered the captain's eyes like never before. The world stopped for a moment and everything hung still. A living picture of the dead.

                Fendwall was the first to break free of the spell.

                "Morien! Cut the anchor!"

                Morien hacked at the thick rope with his small knife. Fendwall pointed at the crew members not helping pull Dahari and Es on board.

                "You get below deck! Our best chance of survival is down there. The rest of you hurry and get these two on board."

                The ship suddenly jerked as the anchor was cut free. Morien dashed over to help Fendwall. Oros lashed the wheel in place and ran to help as well.

                "Ready! Heave!" Fendwall bellowed over the storm. As one they pulled on the rope and Dahari and Es nearly flew up the side. Fendwall reached over the rail and pulled the battered elf onto the deck. Dahari was curled so tightly around the Hobbit Fendwall thought he might have suffocated her until he heard Es sob.

                "Get below deck! Now, now!" Oros shouted. Calen pried Es away and sprinted below deck. The others were already fleeing down the main hatch.

                "Come on, you crazy Elf," Fendwall said as he lifted Dahari off the deck and half dragged half carried him below deck.

...

                The howling of the tempest was dampened inside the ship. Puddles of water lay everywhere from their soaked clothing. Caston, somewhat recovered, was being helpful for once and distributing dry blankets to the crew.

                Brandt was holding Adrahil still while Estella bandaged his ruined arm in thick linen to staunch the blood flow. The fiery red-head mumbled soothingly while she worked by a single lantern. It was the only light source. Outside the single circle of light was cast in gloomy shadow.

                Huddled pitifully in clumps of two or three was the exhausted crew. Talf and Lendethiel sat back to back, dark hair slick and black with water. Drida was worrying over Es, who was silently weeping from fear and pain. Fendwall felt a flicker of pity for her. The others where dark shadows hunched over in silence.

                Fendwall looked around frantically for his captain, but Oros was nowhere to be seen. Had he stayed above deck? Or, had he been swept overboard?

                "Captain?" Fendwall hissed. He gently lowered Dahari to the floor. "Captain."

                Nothing.

                "Caston!" Fendwall called. "Bring me a blanket."

                Caston tossed Fendwall the last one with a glare. He'd been hoping to keep it for himself. Now he had to give it to the haughty Elf. The other two weren't as bad. They didn't watch his every move with contempt. He still hated them though. Maybe all three of them would miraculously drop dead.

                The ship began to tilt and rise upward along the wave with the force of its forward momentum. Even as it kept going, it slowed. Fear gripped Fendwall again. He had to find his captain.

                "Caston, did you see the captain?"

                Caston shook his head.

                "So be it," Fendwall whispered. "Estella!" Fendwall was about to call her over to check on Dahari, but the Elf's eyes suddenly flew open.

                "No," he whispered hoarsely, "let her finish with Adrahil. I'm-" he closed his eyes against a wave of pain, "only bruised."

                "All right," Fendwall said doubtfully. He stood and addressed the crew. "Right, you lot."

                They all turned to face him. Fendwall pointed to the ceiling.

                "Our Captain is up there right now. I know you've risked your lives more than once already. An' I won't ask you to again. The storm has us beat. There ain't nothin' we can do anymore. That doesn't mean we can't try. Anyone who follows me up there will prove themself a true sailor and I'd happily count you among my friends. I will gladly die alongside you."

                His speech over, Fendwall grunted and ascended through the hatch. There was silence among the crew as they listened to the creaking of the ship as the storm tried to pry it apart. Tilting further with each long second, they sat in a ship doomed for the ocean floor.

                "Blast him!" Brandt shouted, suddenly slapping the floor. He jumped to his feet and ran after Fendwall. Estella hung her head. She wanted to go, but she couldn't leave Adrahil. Calen followed closely behind Brandt, then Livian, followed by Norin and Talf, who looked worriedly at Lendethiel before shrugging his shoulders and leaving. There was no way for him to bail out now, he might as well die fighting.

                Talf notice Dahari struggling to rise and laid a hand on his shoulder.

                "You've done enough, best to rest now. The captain will understand," he comforted. Dahari nodded and laid back down.

                Lendethiel glanced at a distraught Estella staring after those going to the aid of their captain. The quiet elleth stood up and walked over to her.

                "Go. I will look after him," she said. Estella shot her a pained, but grateful look and dashed away. Lendethiel laid a soothing hand on Adrahil's fevered forehead.

…

The rain and wind hit Fendwall like a wall, nearly sending him tumbling back down the hatch. Oros was at the wheel bellowing and cursing the storm. He saw his first mate and grinned widely.

“Come to join the fun?” he shouted.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Fendwall answered. He glanced around and saw that they were not actually cresting the massive wave he had seen minutes ago, but rather a smaller one preceding it. Brandt suddenly burst on to the deck, face twisted in grim determination. He was shortly followed by the rest who had chosen to, and could, fight the storm alongside their captain.

Oros beamed with pride for his motley crew as the White Raider dived down and began to rise again.

“Aye!” he shouted to the courageous few, “Ulmo be wrathful this day, but today we fight! I say to death ‘Nay, you shall not have me’. What say you?”

“Nay!” they answered.

They faced the storm, teeth bared and faces grim and hard as death song with nothing before them but destruction. Up, up, and up they rode the wave, never quailing nor shirking away as the little ship creaked and groaned louder and louder with each passing second.

The White Raider shuddered and began slipping back down the wave into the trench. Fendwall roared with fury and a clap of thunder silenced the world around them.

***********************

Alright! Now I can check Es, Dahari, and Adrahil off the moment of extreme terror/pain/horror list. Do not worry. There is a rhyme and reason to my madness, it's all plotted out in detail in my Corsairs of Oros binder. Color coded too. Everyone shall have their share of screen time because there's nothing I hate more than when a good character doesn't get their share of screen time. Especially with the wonderful I have the privilege to work with. So don't get upset if your character doesn't have much screen time right now. They each have a role assigned to them and those roles come into play at different times and are of different importance. So it is entirely possible some may not have as much screen time as others, but that doesn't make them any less important. In fact, the one's that appear less actually have a more clearly defined role than the one's who appear more often, other than the one's who are currently being given their role, because their role is still a bit muddled. But rest assured this shall all work out in the end for better or for worse. Most likely worse.

That wasn't at all confusing...

So, good, bad, in between? Let me know here. Seriously. I've had a rough few days and am in need of constructive criticism or praise. Praise would be nice... but not totally necessary.

On a final note: all of you being affected by hurricane Harvey stay safe and dry and our prayers up here are with you.

Farewell for a spell.