Webs Of Fate

[From Cassian Dorne's perspective]

I grew up in the bustling trade of Alveris, it's a coastal, maritime town. I was abandoned by my parents, the reason being? I do not know. When I was 7, the orphanage of Valeren found me and gave me shelter, I can't say I ever got along with the other kids at the orphanage, at the age of 10, I was already learning the art of deception and negotiation from merchants and smugglers alike. 

At thirteen, I started as a deckhand on a pirate ship, and quickly rose through the ranks due to my intelligence, eventually I think somewhere when I was fifteen or maybe sixteen, I orchestrated a mutiny, took control of the vessel, and established myself as a powerful figure in the world of clandestine trade and naval warfare.

'Cassian dorne the bloodwork' 

'Dorne the Private of death'

I was given many titles, but I do not care for names. Alveris about a decade ago came under Emperor Arthur Augustus, but I couldn't care less. The sea does not bow to kings, nor do I.

There was a book written in the second epoch, it is a few thousand years old, the book was called; 'The Dark lily' written by William Steafeild, it recounts his adventures as a pirate. Chapter 4: The Dark sea reads as follows;

'July 23rd—A date marking my nativity, yet the relentless pursuit by maritime authorities has rendered any celebration a forlorn hope. My voyage upon the vast Pacific has, by some malevolent chance, led me into the accursed waters known as the Dark Sea, situated southeast of the land of Leopold. Here, monolithic rocks and treacherous shoals abound. My recollections of this passage are vexingly fragmented, as though some unseen force has eroded the very fabric of my memory.'

'July 24th—The Dark Sea lies before me, yet an inexplicable dread eludes my senses. My vessel, though besieged by tempestuous gales and merciless waves, perseveres against the ocean's fury. Abruptly, a jarring impact shudders through the hull—no mere rock or reef, but a colossal edifice emerges from the depths. This towering spire, ascending two miles into the storm-laden firmament and extending three miles across the turbulent sea, presents an otherworldly architecture of spiraling design. Seizing my monocle, I discern massive stone pillars protruding from the abyssal depths, their origins and purpose unfathomable.'

'Amidst the cacophony of the storm, a projectile—a mere pebble—strikes my ship. Though it inflicts negligible harm, the sound pierces the maelstrom's roar, compelling my attention. Upon investigation, I am confronted by a sight that chills the marrow: amphibious, piscine humanoids with visages both grotesque and unearthly. Their eyes, devoid of lids, fixate upon me with an inscrutable intent, as their gilled necks pulsate rhythmically. The very air grows heavy with an aura of ancient malevolence, as these beings emerge from the Stygian depths to survey their unwelcome guest.'

'In that harrowing moment, the boundaries of reality waver, and I am left to ponder the eldritch truths concealed beneath the ocean's veil'

..

'There, rising from the abyss like some antediluvian relic, stood a cyclopean temple of stygian stone, its vast bronze and granite pillars worn by untold eons. The tempest shrieked and howled like a chorus of the damned, yet within the cavernous recesses of that eldritch sanctum, an unnatural stillness prevailed—an oppressive calm that gnawed at the edges of my sanity.'

'With no alternative but madness or discovery, I cast myself from my ship into the malevolent depths, plunging beneath the waves. I swam downward through an inky gloom that seemed almost sentient in its embrace, and after what felt like an eternity—though by my reckoning, no more than half a minute—I emerged into the temple's entrance. Here, some unfathomable force held the ravenous ocean at bay, forming a glistening, membranous barrier against the outside world. Within this abyssal sanctum, the very air carried the thick miasma of something ancient and dreadful.'

'As my gaze wandered over the profane reliefs carved into the monolithic walls, I perceived signs of a hideous veneration—blasphemous sigils, grotesque depictions of half-human, half-aquatic beings writhing in supplication to something greater. The name came unbidden to my lips, as if whispered by the abyss itself: Dagon.'

'Then—an impact! A seismic clash that drowned out even the unholy wailing of the storm. A tremor rippled through the temple, and though every instinct screamed for flight, I found myself transfixed. The water beyond churned as something immense and primeval stirred. And then—it rose.'

'First, a glimpse—a shifting of the shadows, a monstrous bulk looming just beyond the periphery of my comprehension. Then, with a sickening inevitability, it broke the surface, heralded only by the subtle disturbance of the abyssal waters. It was vast beyond reckoning, loathsome beyond description—an aberration from the unfathomed recesses of time. Its Polyphemus eye, ghastly and lidless, fixed upon the monolith before it. Towering, ichthyic arms, glistening with an eldritch sheen, wrapped about the ancient stone with an almost reverent embrace. And then—horror of horrors—it bowed that grotesque, blasphemous head and emitted a sound no mortal ear was meant to endure: a sonorous, rhythmic utterance, an undulating hymn to something vast, cold, and eternal.'

'I knew, in that moment, that I was witnessing not the intrusion of some wayward leviathan, but the return of something long-worshiped and never truly gone. I had trespassed upon the threshold of forgotten gods, and I knew with a dreadful certainty that they had taken notice.'

This story by William Steafeild, recounts his encounters with things he describes as 'Sea horrors' it is because of Author William Steafeild that I even started reading and writing, admittedly I never learned how to read or write when I was young. 

I seek to know the mystery behind Dagon and the other sea horrors lurking beneath the waves, one day, I will write my own story, and hopefully inspire others. I seek knowledge and control, not just over ships and trade routes, but over fate itself, if fate can even be controlled…

…

About a year ago, I came face to face with a member of the Mericeens, those cloaked individuals seek to destroy Leopold, but I will not let them..sometimes I wonder why they wish to destroy Leopold and the emperor, is it because they hate life? Or are they merely afraid of what will happen if they seek forgiveness.

…

Chapter 1 of the book called 'The Lamenting Qiqi', which is one of my favourite novels written by William Steafeild, the novel tells a story of the snake god, who had a favourite hawk, Turukawa, And two arrogant sons, one day the sons killed the hawk Turukawa.

Of all the creatures that soared beneath the heavens, none were more beloved by the great serpent god Degei than Turukawa, the hawk. With wings like burnished copper and a cry that split the sky, Turukawa was Degei's swift messenger, a guardian of the balance between earth and sky.

But Degei had two sons—proud, reckless, and arrogant—who saw Turukawa not as a sacred creature but as a mere bird, no different from the game they hunted. One fateful day, in an act of defiance, they loosed their arrows upon the hawk. Turukawa fell from the heavens, and where his lifeblood kissed the earth, the hills ran crimson, the trees wept scarlet, and the rivers darkened with sorrow.

Degei, his heart heavy with grief, stood before his sons. His voice rumbled like a coming storm, demanding they answer for what they had done. But the brothers, drunk on their own pride, dismissed his wrath.

"Why do you weep for a mere bird?" they scoffed. "Do you value it more than your own kin?"

They turned their backs on him, calling upon their followers to raise great walls—stone upon stone, high and unyielding—to shield them from their father's fury.

But no wall could hold back a god's wrath.

When Degei's warriors could not breach the fortress, he called upon the sky itself. The heavens split, and the rain came—endless, merciless, drowning the world beneath an ocean of his sorrow. The rivers swelled, the valleys vanished, and soon even the tallest trees were swallowed by the tide.

As the waters rose, the brothers at last saw their folly. They begged, they pleaded, their voices thin against the howling storm.

For all his grief, Degei was still their father. He would not let them perish. And so, with a wave of his coils, he shaped a great vessel from the heart of a mountain, setting it afloat upon the endless sea.

For hours, they drifted. For days, they searched for land. But there was none.

Then, upon the last mountain peak that pierced the floodwaters, they heard it—a song, soft yet mournful, carried upon the wind.

A single Qiqi bird, perched upon a jagged rock, its feathers dripping with rain.

"The Qiqi laments, for it is lost."

And the world was no more.

…

This was written by William as a short children's story, of course he had to write about something that didn't involve cosmic horrors.

— 

My life as a pirate held many things, getting chased by marines, trying to find this tarot card. It is said by William Steafeild that sea horror Dagon is the god of bounty and piracy. My bounty is huge, about 10,000,000 gold coins, with is ten billion pieces. Seeing my crime list, this bounty would make sense…The Council of Marine (COM) and the Ministry of Sea Affairs (MOSA) made a crime list about me.. Ahem- The crime list reads as follows;

Terrorism, piracy, assault, espionage, grave robbing, political Conspiracy and kidnapping..

Drug Manufacuring, Mass destruction, mass property destruction, theft, Incrimination, Treason, evading justice…False imprisonment and prison break..

Yes, I committed a lot of crimes…my goal for now is simple, get rid of the Mericeens and uncover the mystery of the sea horrors.