Attack of the Khrait!
by Chryos

The following story took place on The 33rd Day of the Month of Autumn Twilight, Year 541. The Day of Valor.

That morning was calm in the port of G'Dangus, the traders calmly walking by and talking to each other. Sailors were returning from a night of fishing. Shrefwan put out the call that a crew was needed again for the High Seas. People far and wide again flocked to the decks of this worn and used craft. This boat that had only it's predecessor's legendary journeys to overcome, but this ship was destined for so much more...

We left the port, anxious for another serpent hunt. The High Seas always seemed to have the best luck attracting just the right serpents, and we were counting on that this trip. The remembrance of past journeys aboard this ship still rang in our minds. Excitement was one thing never lacking when Shref lead us against the serpents. Excitement, which didn't hesitate upon embarking on our voyage. Immediately Aquoderms boarded the ship, dozens of these savage, disgusting worms, who immediately fell into battle with the crew. "Close the hatches!" Shref ordered, but too late, the derms were below decks, attacking gunman and repairman alike, savagely tearing and pouncing on each individual. They certainly had the element of surprise, but we had something better, Experience. Before the long the tides had turned, we were hacking and slashing, throwing spell after spell at our foes. They didn't stand a chance. Swords flew, shockwave after shockwave was fired, and quickly the derms were dead, just more fae for the taking.

After the slaughter the crew went about their business, deciding which guns they wanted, making sure all the ammo was stacked. Some of us prepared our fishing rods and threw the lines overboard. This water was good fishing, a nice big variety of types to find, even the elusive dead Amber Blaze.

The serpents didn't take long to appear, though small at first. It was a golden serpent only 20 rooms long, which fell to our volley before he could even lay a tail on the ship. As with the second, an emerald ruby serpent about 19 rooms long. It was a bit more difficult, but still no match for us. As the beast was rising out of the water we noticed another threat, a ship on the horizon; The Sok Saron II. Word spread fast around the ship. Who owned the vessel? Were we under attack? We checked the ship lists, the Sok Saron II was not registered to any clan at all!

How was this possible? A ship with no owner? And what manner of vessel was it? It's construction was unknown to even the most experienced hunters on our crew. Shref quickly ran up to the Crow's Nest to survey a bit closer. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, "it couldn't be...". Closer he looked, and Vryce was piloting the ship! We had heard rumor of an upcoming threat, the Khrait, and Vryce was at the helm! Rumors flew around the ship, "This must be the new Sitharon class of ships under construction currently". We quickly fired upon this new threat, attempting to damage it well before it was in range of any decent shots. Fire caster and bolt throwers lit up the sky, flying towards both this new threat, and the serpent who appeared with it. The serpent was no match for us, but after a few volleys at the new ship we realized this would be no easy task.

We had no idea what lay in store for us as we were approached by the Khrait ship, it's protectors showed up with it. Three colossal serpents screamed and roared as they quickly surfaced out of the water. Two violet streaks as far as the eye could see, and a ruby line that was an unmistakable third. Shref sectioned the guns off by deck. Top and bottom decks prepared their guns, ready for the inevitable onslaught.

The Khrait ship was nothing in comparison to it's guards, and sank from all the damage caused by our rounds. Let's just hope the real Khrait attacking aren't worse! Tensions were soaring, and expectations were high. This battle raged on for what seemed like hours, slowly depleting our ships stock of ammo.

A baby quickly rushed up and tried to ram us. Were already fighting 3 colossal serpents, which was practically unheard of, and now a baby too! Our crew loaded and fired, volley after volley, pelting the slithering beasts with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and made quick work of this unholy child.

Our ammunition was low, only a few hundred rounds left. The beasts were bleeding into the sea, turning that beautiful blue into a terrifying crimson. Blood covered the decks of the ship, and still we fired. After a long arduous battle the ruby serpent fell. Suddenly the boat was racked by a terrible rocking... the serpent hadn't died, it had split into babies! What was 3 foes, quickly became 7! Anxiety rose, but we held our own, listening to the calm careful words of the Captain. We just kept firing. Every fire order was timed just right to keep the serpents away from our ship, effectively driving back the menace.

Within a few rounds the smaller serpents were destroyed, they were nothing compared to it's forebearers. Despite the constant attacks on our ship by these monsters, we survived. Both violet colossal serpents split into babies, and we took them all on, one by one, our ammunition running low.

Slowly we made it back to port. Crippled and battered, we pulled into safe waters around Trellor and headed into docks. We had destroyed 22 serpents this trip, accumulating over 725,000 fae for our respective clans. That day was a look into the future, of our future war against the Khrait. Take heed Medievian's, this was just the beginning...