[M] CH 2 (1/1)

Zico entered his private cabin, a pounding headache and the blood encrusting on his gear turning his mood sour. Swiftly unbuckling his sword belt, he threw it on the small dresser and scrubbed a hand through his messy hair. Grabbing the pitcher and lifting it out of its built in hold, he poured some water into the small basin and muttered a quick spell to heat the water before using it to wash his face. The hot water relaxed his shot nerves and tense mind, and he let his thoughts wander over the events of the last few hours.They had caught the other ship around nightfall, and tailed them closely until morning broke. As the sun lifted over the horizon the pirate ship closed in on the other, hooks thrown to catch the starboard side of the expensive looking ship and drawn tight to pull the two together. Planks were readied by the pirate crew as their Captain stood with them, his enchanted sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. As soon as the planks hit the deck of the other ship, a magician sent a blast of fire toward the pirates, but Zico saw it coming and rubbed the pad of his left thumb over the hilt of his sword, and the fire deflected back into the face of the power user. A scream was heard and then a splash, and a smile immediately covered Zico’s face.“All clear!” He called, certain they’d taken care of the ship’s resident magicker, and the crew gave a collective shout and swarmed the opposing ship’s deck. Battle broke out immediately, the besieged ship’s crew fighting hard to save their ship, but  the pirate Captain gave no notice of that; he knew his men could handle a fight better than most. Stepping quickly aboard, Zico’s eyes roamed the ship until he spotted who he had come to face…A man in a fine dark blue coat stood near the Captain’s hold, and while he wore no insignia to show that he was the Captain of this ship, he had the air of a nobleman and that was what Zico was looking for. The pirate Captain eased through the fighting, blocking a few swings here and there and occasionally parrying sword thrusts, but he kept his eyes on the man in blue. The nobleman seemed to notice him when he was more than halfway there, and his hand fell to his sword as he obviously noted that Zico was coming for him.It was only moments later that they stood face to face, and the man gave a mocking bow as he sneered at Zico. “You’re the caption of this bunch of crow-bait, I presume?” A tiny nod answered him, and the man laughed and raised one fist. “Goodbye, then.” A blast of cold air came from the ring on his middle finger, cold that should have thrown Zico off of his feet and pinned him to the deck, but to the noble’s surprise the air seemed to simply part around the young pirate. Zico offered him a sardonic smile before attacking fully, holding nothing back as he fought to kill this man and take his money from him.In his young life Zico had fought many a nobleman, and it no longer surprised him that they knew how to handle their weapons. This man, though, took skill to a whole new level, and for the first time Zico wondered for a moment if he might lose.***

Life started out bad for Jiho, family poor and barely able to feed him. His only bright moments had been when he was able to sneak away and play with his only friend, but in his fifth year even that joy was taken from him w