Doing Battle against Unruly Tides

"I know I planned to come along...but this wasn't what I had in mind." A brand new figure cried against the screaming winds as the bright flash of light cast them out high above the brush of a softly clouded sky.

"Don't lose your head, Ms. Dustling, and make sure to tuck and roll." Seyta responded, laughing from the sensation of the rush, she pulled in the straying Ketsuiko close when she rushed down past.

Speeding against the cold winds and salty breeze as she drew close to the water, the nearby town shook with a mild rumble that clattered dishes and rattled the windows about, when Seyta cratered by the far side of the beach, with the impact throwing Ketsuiko and Sasha into different directions.

"It would seem that our trip here wasn't calibrated all that well. Though, none of us are worse for wear, right?" Dusting herself off before realizing that the other two passengers were missing.

"Why! Who would set up a Teleportation Seal so poorly, we could have just driven here." Ketsuiko drew himself out of the ditch with an earful of sand before finding the annoyed Sasha nursing a headache from the fall.

"Oh good, you're alive, thank FAE. Thought I might have crushed you in the fall." Pulling them up and with a powerful pat on their back, blasting most of the dust off them, and possibly shaking their insides about.

"If I'm going to be stuck working for him, I'm driving...hell I'd settle for flying here, why couldn't we do that?" Collecting himself from the hit, the three of them traveled up the beach to reach the harbor, marked by the wall of wreckage resting against it with massive tides spurring forth and hiding shadows that snaked within.

Managing to clear a way through, with Seyta going to town with a frightening amount of joy.

"Do all giants have lively personalities?" Ketsuiko posed the question to his upperclassmen while they passed through the mountain of rubble, joining Seyta on the other side.

The trio traveled up the road to Whitewater's town square to the sight of a bustling mass of robed figures moving about, exchanging words with the riled-up citizens that had no qualms about sharing their displeasure at their arrival, while a familiar face could be seen speaking to a particularly gilded figure.

"Seems like the Church is still dealing with the backlash...but Ms. Yuria...why is she here?" Ketsuiko asked as they followed Seyta who paced through the crowd, giving little thought to the angry crowd and clearing a path between the disgruntled crowd, who not wanting to be trampled, held their tongue and stepped aside.

"Ms. Yuria, hello. You arrived ahead of us?"

"It's good to see you Ms. Cruz and Ms. Dustling. And to you Mr…"

"Yes, this is Ketsuiko, the Class Captain of Class 1F. He was assigned alongside myself and Sasha by the Student Council President to answer the Church's summons." Seyta introduced him with excitement in her voice. 

"It's a pleasure. I hope your trip was a good one. I know traveling through the lands outside of the Havens can be quite daunting on your first time."

"It was brief…as I'm sure your own flight was?" Ketsuiko wondered.

"Oh gods no. Why would I put myself through that terrible experience with a Teleportation Seal simply to save time."

"..." His silence was enough to catch Sasha off-guard, even reminding her of an exchange she had with Elldra before coming on the Quest, warning her to remain cautious around Ketsuiko's temper.

"We are well, they might have gotten shaken up by the crash but he's a lot stronger than he looks." Tugging him closer as she explained.

"Very well then, if you're not weary from your travels there's someone you should meet. This is Keren Laurius, a Chaplain of the Sixth Branch of the Holy Church, the Brightword Scriptures."

"They are handling the investigation here on the Church's orders." Introducing the scarlet robed and gilded figure who only spared a momentary glance at the two of them before setting his glasses in place and turning to one of the robed strangers, whispering to him before sending him off.

"It's a pleasure, now we already have a group studying the remains of the Northern Calamity found in the ruins of the Coral Stone Chapel, your teacher Ms. Yuria has already briefed you on your task, yes, alright."

"We also have a separate team to secure the borders of the town and have cleared out the nearby hideouts for the Nycerii. What we've learned has been most shocking, however–" The tall, stern-looking figure continued, pacing back and forth as he paged through his notes before being interrupted and coming to a stop.

"Right, but you haven't mentioned what we would be doing." Sasha asked.

"I know we're supposed to clear our names and build good faith with the locals by helping out, but doing what exactly?" Ketsuiko spoke up, and while the Chaplain's piercing stare could have burned a hole through him, what was more frightening was the terrifying look of death coming from Ms. Yuria after interrupting.

"FAE, give me strength. You were to be briefed by the Student Council President unless he did not receive the information." She answered, shifting her gaze to Keren.

"I see. You were provided with the necessary details. And more shall be dispensed when appropriate. Like now."

"Chaplain, please do not allow my patience to betray you. I may consider you an acquaintance though I can just as easily view you as an annoyance if you impede our work." Ms. Yuria voiced her frustration, watching Keren's expression soften with surprise before he composed himself.

"Excuse my brazenness, Amelia. As we speak the condition of the town has been stabilized, however, trade and commerce will only continue to deteriorate unless the harbor is cleared and repairs can be made to the port, the only problem is…"

"The sea demons and beasts continue to infest the waters of the bay. Ordinarily, the Western Glass Sea is relatively safe, however, we discovered that the Nycerii had drawn in the creatures to prevent any aid coming from the Sword Isles or even Ardyntorra."

"Seems like whoever was in charge knew that the presence of the Northern Calamity would cause a stir if uncovered." Ms. Yuria added after her expression calmed.

"So do you want us to clear the wreckage and slay all the beasts? Well this is going to be fun." Seyta's fiendish grin appeared once more, worrying Ketsuiko more than the thought of the monster-infested waters.

"Wonderful, you have the weekend to do so, Amelia, join me at the town hall, we have a scheduled meeting with Mayor Ludleef." Standing by the road, the stranger that was sent off returned, parking his vehicle nearby, he stepped out and greeted the Chaplain.

Opening the car for them, Ms. Yuria followed after, though not before handing Seyta and Ketsuiko the keys to their inn, warning them to be careful before taking off.

"What could they be discussing, and why have they placed us so far from the Coral Stone Chapel, what are they hiding in that crater?"

"You know you have a keen eye for things most people try to stay away from." Sasha joked after watching how hard he was thinking.

"That's enough, we have our orders and Ms. Yuria has her work, no sense in wasting time trying to rack your brain around everything. We should get started, those beasts might not hold back even if you are little, Ketsuiko." Seyta teased.

"You almost sound like you won't be helping..."

"Well Sasha and I are here to show you the ropes, but before any of us steps in to help, you'll first have to show me what you got. I haven't seen the King's magic in person before–"

"Alright, I'll fight whatever beast you want me to if you lower your voice, we're not trying to get the attention of the whole town."

'Why do I feel like things are going to get more annoying!' Ketsu thought, reminded of how she dragged out things he would have preferred being quiet about during their preparations.

Throughout most of the day, Whitewater port would rumble with periodic quakes being noticeable enough that the locals would stand clear of their windows and pad their kitchenware with straw and paper while allowing them to continue with the rest of their day unimpeded.

Only taking a rest when the sky towards the beach lit up with streaks of red cloaking the blackened lightning that thundered.

Roaring with the rage of the battering waves and winds that would pick up as they neared the mountain of scrap and derelict steel corpses. Seyta would leave Sasha at their inn and make her way to the beach, moving through the hollowed-out bowels of the marooned vessels, she sat close to the whirlwind of salty air and the blood-rain and shower strewn guts.

Showering the scene nearby, the shrapnel hail of bone and steel littered the beach, while she helped herself to some butter cookies as she watched the display.

'He's still at it. I wonder how long till he's out of steam, shouldn't belong now.' She thought while her fingers wandered into the box of desserts.

Finishing off the last of the delicious treats, she turned her sights to the watery battlefield, managing to witness something blasted through the veil of stormy winds and thrashing waves, flying past her and crashing into the beach.

"Hey, little guy. Are you hungry? I've got snacks." Pulling out another box of treats for him

Crawling out from beneath the mass of flesh, with the mouth of saltwater, he shook the sand out of his head. With his wet hair covering his look of frustration, Ketsu wandered over to Seyta, thanking her for the snack before walking back towards the sea...and passing out in the shallow water.

"Are you planning on waking up today, or are you really dead?" Ketsuiko woke to the sound of a voice, surprised by the warm sensation around him and how quiet everything seemed"

"Ms Cruz, where are we...an inn?"

"Yep, couldn't very well leave you to take a nap in the sea. And you don't have to call me that"

"Huh?"

"It's Seyta, Sey-ta. You're my junior so I want you to call me that. No exception." Trying to collect himself, he leaned out of bed, only to find Sasha rested nearby. His eyes wandered over to Seyta who simply looked away, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Strange, but I can work with that." Planting his feet on the floor, he took a deep breath as he stood up and made his way out of the room.

"How was it? You seemed to be sleeping quite soundly when embraced by my underclassman." She asked, while still shying away from him, though Ketsuiko knew better than to answer.

As he was about to leave, she stopped him, asking if he was hungry but he answered that he needed to return to the beach. She asked him if he was feeling any pain but after checking his body and only finding a few scars and some weakness in his legs he felt fine.

Thinking he had her support, he again tried to leave only to find himself lifted into the air.

"You've recovered from most of your wounds, but you're not at full strength. First, eat something and then we'll head to the beach."

"You're pretty considerate for a Demon, you know that?"

"Ha...how do you plan on killing those beasts if you're worried about your empty stomach?" She responded as she marched out of the room to the dining hall, only taking to put him down at his request.

"With a strategy of course. Most of the creatures have fled or had their carcasses beached against the steel wall."

"Yeah yeah, but if it were that easy you wouldn't have been slapped across the sea." Teasing him as they were seated, with a waiter attending their table, they ordered their dinner, making him aware that it was already nighttime as the orange glow of the street lights poured in through the window.

"You should always fill up on good food when you can, or you'll find yourself burned out. Your recovery is going to be a lot faster than it was before you went through the Configuration, and that takes a lot of energy. So try to avoid hits more than taking them."

"You know you could help and make things so much easier." Clearing a bowl of courgette balls before shocking the waiter with a request for another helping, adding the growing tower of plates beside him.

"Nope, it's all you. But if you want some advice about our slippery friend who knocked a headful of sand into you, it's called a Snallygaster. Pretty gross thing, with all those weird tentacles, bleugh!"

'Oh, is that why she didn't want to step into the sea?' Staring at her with an inquisitive look.

'Hey, are you listening? The thing's a pain, it's huge, strong and stupid fast in the water but it still has to breathe. Really if you can get past the tentacles and get it to surface for air, you could probably take it down, its massive body holds it back in the air' She exclaimed before enjoying the new servings brought by the waiter.

"Could, probably? not sounding very sure are we?"

"Well I find you curious so we'll wait and find out, but you can worry about that tomorrow, right now you should eat and rest. Here." Sharing some of the courgettis and keeping the rest for herself.

Ketsuiko continued to count the number of plates while going through his Notebook, only looking up to see a new helping of delicious food, while Seyta watched on.

With Ketsuiko sitting convinced, the night carried on as they filled their bellies full of good food and a night with a bit of even more convincing, took the chance to rest, surrounded by the sound of bustling footsteps of the Brightwords working under the glow of the low-hanging moon.