Realm of Paradox, the High Seas

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  "CHASE HER DOWN!, HEW TOWARDS STARBOARD" my first mate bellowed as the crew snapped into action hauling ropes and fastening. As we turned fighting the pull of the ink black waves as fought to turn towards our enemy.

  "HALT THE HEADING, FLY AT THE FLOATIN' SCUM" he yelled as he held the wheel straight and we quickly picked up speed, but we where still fighting the sea. As we made our chase I watched the naval battle pick up and suddenly found myself glad that we were away from the center where whole ships where dragged to depth of the ocean. I couldn't make out how many we had taken out versus how many we had lost but even were winning it was to early to call Victory. I turned my attention back to our quarry who we where now closing in on slowly.

  "FLY THE CATCH HOOKS" the first mate yelled his voice fighting the winds for dominion of the vessel. However the Entities heard him nonetheless and long chains with small spear heads made out of hooks came out from several caches around the ship. Like a lasso they swung a small measure of the chain behind the spear-hook head around in a circle before releasing most fell into the ocean but two where successful and the rest go the crew dropped the missed chains and helped hold onto the two chains that found purchase. If humans had tried the same thing I'm pretty sure they would have easily went flying but these entities although mostly humanoid in appearance where not bound by human rules of logic.

  With our cover blown I lowered our camouflage and I could hear the faint cries of alarm on the enemy ship.

  "DROP THE SAILS, ROCK IN WATER!" The nonsensical phrase alerted the crew not manning the chains to lower the massive sails. We slowed almost immediately and the chains buckled and seemed like they might snap for a moment before the ship we where latched to gave and slowed to a stop. Without command the crew hauled the chains slowly back towards us.

  "Captin' be aware the projectiles are bound to be a comin" he stayed to me and I tapped into my understanding, my inner contradiction and flared it upon the world. Twin flames danced on either side of my palm half there half not. Surely enough javelins and arrows came flying across the narrow passage.

  Releasing hours of flame I burnt the projectiles to a crisp. My first mate could handle damage to the ship so it was my job to protect those hauling the ship closer. Every volley of fire that the enemy sent got met with a blast of Void Fire. In between the the enemy volleys the crew not manning the chains would lob back javelins of our own.

  As the strait between our two vessels closed a dark figure darted from the deck of the ship. I knew the Entity that had risen to the vault of the sky. It was the Wasteful Scavenger bearing a silhouette similar to a certain east coast billionaire vigilante.

  My enemy descended from the sky and landed like a stone on the deck. Jumping down from the quarter deck I landed on the main deck a few feet across from the rancid bipedal crow. Adorned in skeleton necklaces with pieces of flesh hanging on by a thread. His obsidian black eyes held a cruel cunning, however his menace was ruined by his short stature. Standing at roughly five feet even he barely made it to my chest. Which changed him from being some terrifying monster into a feral bird headed child.

  “Zo you are de one dey choze to hunt me down, hmm? Zome uhpity mortal runt?” He spoke in a similar manner to a parrot as he left his mouth mostly open and he seemed to have a hard time speaking. That's also when I realized that the New York nock off version of the minotaur was speaking English. A flash of amusement flared in the crows eyes as He no doubt saw the realization on my face.

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  "Oh, yes I know where you live on Dirt you call it rigtd?" His grammar was atrocious but he was speaking English. However I knew that I had bigger worries like for example how he knew I was the one that was going to be fighting him and how long he had to prepare for this fight.

  "How the hell do you know where—" as the Crow was watching with glee as I seemed angry and confused I prepared something a little special for him. Halfway through my question I blasted from behind with a blast of flame.

  The Crow bastard squaked in outrage as he nearly got turned into last resort fried chicken. Continuing to press the attack I sent plumes of void fire as my enemy took to the skies darting to fro through the air dodging my attacks while screaming obscenities in his native tongue. Unfortunately for the Scavenger I wasn't held to the ground. With a burst of will and a minor stress headache I blasted through the sky. My whole back became a light with flame and I essentially turned my self into a human rocket.

  My enemy quickly adapted as He used his superior mobility to weave around me. As I chased him I noticed something odd around me where floating skulls that weren't falling but rather bobbing in air lime ice in water.

  "Scavenger's Hoard!" The Crow Squaked as the skeletal heads took on spectral forms of tortured souls. Lobbing one in the head with void fire it dodged around a a blistering speed. Suddenly I felt and ice cold shiver run along my liver and looking down a saw a small child sized ghost hand protruding from my side and frost growing around it.

  "Ahhh... Shit...what the actual fuck!" Im not proud of it but I did in fact do a perfect redition of a high pitched child's scream before dropping a bunch of void fire around me to destroy the ghost like creatures meanwhile my crew had pulled up to enemy ship and was now engaged in a battle spanning both ships. Though I noted that my ship was doing significantly better primarily due to the actions of The First Mate who turned the damaged parts to ash and then the ash back into the ship.

  Whirling back into my fight with a blast of fire protruding from my heel I kicked the crow who hadn't been expecting the sudden counter attack. Ignoring the ghosts I returned to my chase of the crow who continued to leave several skeletal pieces of jewelry bobbing in air like mines of supernatural horror. As the crow continued to try and make a break for it I slammed pedal to the metal and summoned as much fire as I could to propel myself. The Wasteful Scavenger looked back just In time to see my ugly mug smiling as I finally caught him.

  "You.. slimly... No... Good.... Annoying... Son of a pigeon.... Stop... fucking... RUNNING!" I yelled punctuating each word with a punch to the rotting bipedal crow as we neared the dark night like waters. Right before we were about to touch its surface I let go of the Wasteful Scavenger before reigniting my flame boost. I watched as the crow flailed about before he touched the water and It was like acid except instead of melting like flesh and blood he melted into concepts and just as I thought he was a goner he thrashed breaking the surface of the foaming water to which he was melting in be reached up before I could fly above and his black talon latched into my eyeball drenched in cursed water. The Scavenger clutched onto dear life as I blasted into the sky away from. The cursed sea and whirled towards the sound of fighting as crash landed into the deck of the Sea Vulture.

  Panicking I clawed at the crow trying to get him to release the talon imbedded into my eye. Finally I gripped the hand like appendage of the crow and with all my rage built up from the pain In brunt his hand imagining it turning into nothingness back to the void from which my fire found life. Ripping the talon from my right eye I felt like my skull was being torn apart as my nerves screamed for it to stop and as I looked out of my one good eye I kept on trying to hit the fucker but punches kept on missing slightly off every time. The other half of my vision was completely dark nothing but enteral fire both aching and sharp blazed there like a pit of hell fire in my skull as the naval battle happened around us. The Crow continued to melt even out of the water and I... I couldn't fathom what had happened to me It happened all so fast....