"The sea is too quiet tonight."
T'was the first log I have written.
Home. I'm afraid's still out of sight.
From the expedition we'd been.
With me as the captain we sailed,
Finding lost treasures we've unveiled.

Six months passed. 50 men aboard.
Gambling with seas so treacherous;
Vent'ring the unknown with a sword.
Some had said it was murderous.
After the passing of our king,
The kingdom had fallen. Crumbling.

I was the only one to stand
Was so young. Was so terrified.
Then heard 'bout the treasure island.
Horrified—was crying inside.
Warriors, outcasts, poor men—they came,
"We offer help," they all proclaim.

And soon we sailed one early morn,
Food, armors, weapons—on our track.
To my crying wife I had sworn,
"Don't you worry, dear. I'll come back."
She held me close and our eyes met.
A kiss. "I'll wait for you, my love."

Aboard an old frigate we sailed.
The first day was quiet and calm.
But as dusk came, a storm assailed.
We saw great waves; I felt a quam.
In the end we fought the tempest.
Onward we went towards our quest.

From a distance, an island rose.
"What say we stop there for the night?"
"What is there no one ever knows.
I say we persist heading right."
In front of me was my cousin,
To my first mate he's arguin'.

"Gear up, let us let the night slip,"
I replied and my crew agreed.
To fate's hands I tightly took grip,
To the island, we dared proceed.
We camped in tents; supper we ate.
We gathered resources; slept late.

I woke up, almost out of breath.
I saw my kingdom falling down.
What if what lies ahead is death?
With my own emotions I drown.
I stood—outside I was heading.
There came my cousin approaching.

"Avreux, I can see your beam.
What is it you would like to say?"
"Come, dear brother," he said with gleam.
"We had found something on the bay."
I followed his steps on hurry,
There was my first mate, Nemorri.

Smiling, fresh juice they were drinking,
In front, a very pleasant scene.
The two moons shone. The stars twinkling.
"This—the best place I've ever seen."
Avreux grabbed my hand and ran,
"I'm glad we came to this island."

We watched the twin moons slowly fade—
That isle had brought us brief delight.
"I saw my mother," he then said,
"A glimpse upon the waves this night.
I thought it was her ghost, so near—
She spoke my name... I swore I'd hear."

In the morning, we continued.
To the island we said goodbye.
The great joy we felt concluded.
We once more sailed under blue sky.
"What do you think we'll see next, Capt?"
My cousin asked, my back he tapped.

Time passed. It finally arrived.
Five of my men—they became ill.
"Ate a bad fruit," some had derived.
I felt scared. I felt a strange chill.
We isolated them below.
Cous', too. My fear began to grow.

A letter came—his final breath.
Avreux had now met his end.
I saw them perish—choked by death.
Too late to break, too late to mend.
We burned their forms upon the wave—
And prayed the sea would grant them grave.

For days I wept, but men stood strong.
Then storms returned with sky gone pale.
The compass danced on a cursed song,
And whispers trembled through the sail.
We saw a fleet of phantom white—
Too smooth, too bright, too wrong for night.

"Let's follow them," my first mate said.
And I, half-drowned in hope, agreed.
We chased what shimmered far ahead—
A trail we thought might help us lead.
But ships dissolved before our cries—
We'd sailed t'ward ghosts and trusted lies.

"Press on," said Nemorri—but no.
This time, I claimed the helm once more.
"Turn back. We sail against the gale,
By will alone—not god nor lore."
They rowed with pain, the sky grew pale—
But still, we lived to tell the tale.

The wind grew still. The food ran low.
Our throats were dust. Our minds grew thin.
A golden mist began to grow—
And then we saw our ghostly kin.
They walked the waves in silent grace,
Our dead returned, without a face.

One cried, "My son!" with voice gone hoarse,
Another reached t'ward fading light.
I saw Avreux—form and force—
Still smiling through the ocean's night.
He said, "You've done enough. Let go."
But peace that easy... comes with woe.

Then came my father, arms outstretched:
"My boy," he whispered, "Rest. You're safe."
I swore that vision was far-fetched—
But then one leapt without a trace.
"My daughter!" cried a man, then fell—
No splash, just silence, deep as hell.

"Eyes off the sea!" I called in pain.
"Plug up your ears—row fast and true!"
Six vanished in the siren's reign;
One more died quiet, blade in view.
The sea can kill without a claw—
It sings in dreams and breaks the law.

Still west we sailed 'neath ashen skies,
The waters hissed, the wind was slow.
Then from the deep, with burning eyes,
A beast rose breathing forge and woe.
Its voice was iron, flame its breath—
Huǒzhen had stirred from sacred death.

"No," I breathed. "Not one more soul."
So many gone—I could not bear.
"Stand still. Let none lose self-control.
These beasts hunt heat and shifting air."
"Even breath," I said, "will betray.
Stillness alone shall guide our way."

"But what of her?" said Nemorri.
"She creaks and sways—will that not call?"
"The ship is wood. The threat is we,"
I answered, quiet over all.
One cried, one trembled in his boots—
As coils hissed close with deadly roots.

We almost passed their hungry gaze
When three men launched a lifeboat fast.
The splash broke peace like fire through haze—
And every eye snapped to the mast.
"How dare you flee?" the monster roared.
"For this offence, you all are scored."

My men looked on, eyes wild with dread.
"Captain!" they called, "What shall we give?"
"I've read," I said, "he can be fed—
A trade may let the rest still live."
But one man lunged—a fatal cry—
And stabbed the beast to make it die.

The serpent screamed, the sea went red.
"You hurt my kin. My son is blind!
Four sons I've borne—one now is dead.
Give four in turn, or death you'll find."
"I'll trade our food," I begged in pain.
It took the man who struck in vain.

"Three more," it hissed. "Now choose your crew."
But who would give, and who would grieve?
"Captain, we fight!" Nemorri flew—
But I had seen what none believe.
I turned t'ward those who'd tried to flee—
A mother, child... afloat at sea.

"Give them," a whisper grazed my ear—
A voice of storm, or guilt, or god?
A goddess, or my own dark fear?
The air was thick, my lungs grew flawed.
They ran to save their child, their kin...
But must I trade their hope to win?

A burning fume swept through the air—
My men collapsed like scattered rain.
"Choose now," it hissed, "or breathe despair.
Sleep soon—and let them die in vain."
Their boat fled on—I could not stand.
I gasped and raised a trembling hand...

"Take them," I said. The words betrayed.
And with a screech, the beast obeyed.
It chased the three, and I just lay—
Too numb to look, too weak to pray.
Their screams went red into the tide.
I cursed the will that stayed alive.

I woke in dreams: three peaks of green,
A silver mist on silent seas.
No storm, no sword, no wrath between—
Just Audressean's voice on breeze:
"This isle shall test not what you wield—
But who you trust, and what you yield."

A peasant girl with steady face
Approached and whispered, "Come aside.
Your men now walk in pride, not grace—
They talk of gold, not of the tide."
She led me through the shaded wood,
Her voice unsure, her heart still good.

I warned them, "Touch not leaf or stone.
Eat nothing strange; do not divide."
Then Nemorri, with me alone,
Joined six as we began the stride.
We climbed the peak through biting cold,
Where silence pressed and dusk took hold.

We found a cave aglow with fire—
A vault of gold, untouched by death.
"No pride," I said. "No mad desire.
Take what we need, then save your breath."
But some took more than fate would bless—
And woke the god beneath that mess.

One struck me shallow for the crown,
Then fled while others fed their greed.
The mountain groaned and shook us down—
Its fury fed by mortal need.
The camp was ash, the sky turned red,
And from the woods, the dragon tread.

It wasn't rage, but sacred right—
A keeper wronged, a dream betrayed.
For food they stole, it came to fight,
And tore through all the trust we'd made.
It struck with claw and it's fire breath—
And twenty fell to judgment's death.

We sailed again through serpent seas
With just fifteen to face the tide.
"Four lives you owe," it said with ease,
But traitors stood among my side.
"Why not take seven?" I replied—
Their greed had turned their hearts to pride.

"Your crew?" one asked. I knew the tone.
Then Nemorri stepped forth and wept.
"I trusted you," I said, alone—
And then he struck while others slept.
"My tribe must eat," he said through pain—
His dagger left a crimson stain.

"Trade our king!" another dared cry.
I fell; the serpent grinned with glee.
"You owe six more," it hissed on high—
And fed upon them merc'lessly.
"Enough!" I roared. "The traitors, too!"
Their screams rang out. My fury flew.

Some fled with gold into the sea,
I let them go—no throne for thieves.
Two more I bound with rope and plea,
Their blood still fresh upon the eaves.
Eight loyal hearts stood by my name—
The rest were cinders, drowned in shame.

Before the sirens' songs could swell,
I hid my crew from death's deceit.
The traitors freed—I wished them well,
Then cast them to the sea so sweet.
Their screams were swallowed by the wave,
And through their deaths, the true were saved.

We passed untouched. A silent night
Lay soft upon the silver sea.
And in the haze, a distant light—
Elphiron's towers welc'ming me.
"My love," I whispered to the stars,
"I'm coming home to end these wars."

But fate, once kind, returned to take.
The sea was torn by sudden gale.
A monstrous form began to wake,
And split our ship with storm-blown sail.
The beast of wind, with tendrils wide,
Rose shrieking from the moon-kissed tide.

I gathered those I still could save—
The young men, women, crown, and gold.
I set them drifting on a wave,
While fear and salt around me rolled.
"It smells the blood," I said aloud,
"Of treason, loss... of dreams unbowed."

I turned to board—but knew the truth.
Their boats would sink beneath my weight.
"Go now!" I cried to those in youth,
But four remained to share my fate.
"We ride with you until the end,"
Said one, my last and dearest friend.

They kissed the women one last time.
I nearly wept, but did not fall.
Then as the ship began to climb,
We fired the final cannonball.
"For Elphiron!" we swore, we claim—
And faced the storm that never came.

We struck its limbs with all we bore,
Distracting it with sparks and flame.
We hurled some gold to feed its core—
The sea would never be the same.
And when it howled to shake the sky,
We closed our eyes, prepared to die.

And in my final breath of sand,
I saw her face beyond the tide.
"I love you more than gold or land—
My soul is yours, though kings have died."
"Tell her I fell for crown and kin.
Tell her I'm sorry... for my sin."

https://youtu.be/HuZKDGiVAQQ