Golden Age of Supremacy

"What's his name?" Svetlana inquired as she studied the unconscious body of Emrys hanging on Julian's shoulder.

"Emrys. I don't know if he has a surname but considering he's a slave from Benin, the chances of that are quite low." Julian replied, "You want me to put him in the lower decks?"

"No." Svetlana replied, "Take him to my quarters and leave him there. I want to speak to him especially since we're going to the Caribbean right after we're down here.

"We are?" Julian asked, shocked we were going there of all places, especially with what was going on over there, "Why would you want to go there? The British, French, and Spanish have all been wearing over an island over there, and the entire area subregion has been locked down."

A grim feeling crawled all over my body thinking about the dark aura that seemed the loom over the entire Caribbean. A couple of weeks ago a massive explosion of Aether erupted on an island near the center of the Caribbean. The shockwave from it was so large that it caused a massive storm and multiple ships were capsized and sunk. I heard the death toll was over 2,000.

Before anyone could investigate what had even happened multiple ships carrying French, British, and Spanish flags arrived on the scene. They cordoned off the island and threatened to kill anyone who dared come close to it. Of course, some pirates and privateers decided to test their luck, ignore the threats, and try to sneak onto the island. But they were always caught, tortured, and executed publicly. I even heard they hanged the bodies on the mast of some ships to serve as a warning to potential trespassers.

The Caribbean has been considered a no-go zone for pirates since. Why the hell would the captain want to go there?

As if sensing my thoughts she looked at me and explained, "I know what you're thinking Ryalle. But with the information that I've received, it's honestly worth it to go. We need to get there as fast as possible because when word spreads all the top pirate crews will bombard the blockade that the 3 empires have set up without care."

"Huh? What do you mean? Why would you say that?" I was confused, no one knew what was going on in the Caribbean. Any type of information there was kept under lock and key. You needed a French, British, or Spanish insider who was located there right now to find out what was going on. They couldn't be a foot soldier either. They had to be at least a Lieutenant.

"If the information that I've received is true then there is an Aetheric Ruin that opened in the Caribbean and that's why there was an explosion." She revealed.

"WHAT!" Damien shouted, physically expressing what me and Julian were both feeling, "That's impossible, Aetheric Ruins are extremely rare and only appear once in a millennia. The entire world would go to war over such ruins."

Damien wasn't wrong. Aether ruins were mysterious planes that housed extreme danger. But the rewards and artifacts that you would gain from exploring and surviving them were priceless. Treasures that defined reality were in abundance in these ruins, but there were trials and enemies one would encounter when exploring them that made them very risky. Most that went in never returned, but the ones that did were so strong that they could only be described as monsters.

Some of the most powerful Pirate Captains and Pirate Hunters were those who claimed an inheritance or treasure in the Aether ruins and lived to tell the tale so it went without saying that these ruins would be monopolized and hoarded by high powers the second they saw them.

"Which is why we have to get there before the other crews find out and start heading there. We're already pretty far from the Caribbean so every second counts" Julian chimed in.

"What about the slaves? We're just going to bring them along with us?" Damien asked.

He was right. They would be dead weight but then again it's not like all of them are even going to see the Caribbean, let alone actually make it there alive.

"The ones that survive the journey we can use as bait to draw attention when we try to sneak on the island. At least the ones that are worthy, if they survive that and end making it to the ruin we can see if they can change their fate." Svetlana answered.

We all nodded our heads in agreement.

"Julian leave the slave on your shoulder in my cabin and get the rest of the Division Leaders and the crew ready. We have a long journey ahead of us. Damien sorted out the cargo and organized everything accordingly. Ryalle, come with me"

"Yes Captain," The three of us replied in unison and split off to complete each of our assigned tasks. Leaving the Vice Captain to do whatever the hell she does. I really couldn't care less. I had more important things to worry about.

"Where are the other Division Leaders?" I asked as I followed the Captain to her quarters, it was a question that was on the back of my mind since I got back to the ship.

Damien was here but he didn't seem worried and anxious about his missing fellow Division leaders so they could only be close.

Svetlana smiled, "They're all blow deck right now. I've already told them about the Aetheric Ruin so right now they're culling the slaves they brought back and keeping the ones they see as potentially useful. You and Julian brought back the lowest amount."

"Me and him have always been quality over quantity. That and we like making the work easier for us."

"I've been aware of that." She acknowledged as we stopped in front of the doors leading to her cabin.

She pushed open the doors and I followed her inside the warm and cozy cabin. It carried the scent of cinnamon and pinewood. There were books, scrolls, and maps everywhere. There was a bed in the far right corner of the otherwise large cabin with soft velvet carpets that covered almost the entire flooring.

In the middle of the cabin, there was a table that had a white map that showed the entire world filled with multiple black Xs that covered more than half of the massive table. There was also a lamp that dimly lit the dark cabin giving it a cozy and comfortable ambiance.

In front of the table, there was a chair that contained the slave Emrys. He was slumped over but steadily breathing. He was still unconscious from the effects of Julian's spell.

"What do you think of this slave Ryalle?" She asked me as she walked around the chair, staring at Emrys as if she was looking at a new and amusing toy.

I sneered in contempt. There was nothing impressive about him, "Nothing. He's just a slave. A worthless excuse of a human and a waste of life who was blessed that people like us came to save him from his miserable life. To be honest I don't see what the hype is about. If it wasn't for Julain telling me he would deal with him I probably would've killed him."

"Mhm," Svetlana responded and sat in her chair behind the table while still looking at the unconscious Emrys, "You're good at a lot of things Ryalle. Leading, Killing, Strategizing and even negotiation. You have all the makings required in being a First Division leader, but there's one thing you lack that is stopping you from achieving that spot and I'm afraid it'll cost you dearly in the future."

"Oh? And what's that?" I asked in ammusmet. There was nothing that I couldn't do or learn. Nothing that I didn't excel at. I was one of the strongest members of the Night Reavers, The youngest among all the Division Leaders and a holder of a Deviant Element.

The only thing that was stopping me from joining the First Division was age and that Julian was likely to get the position before me thanks to the run he was on right now.

"Vision," She responded and waved me over to her side "Come, watch and see what we can learn from this kid when he wakes up. Maybe you'll even learn something from him."