Zarmos' Last Voyage

It was a sunny day. The crew was working hard, the wind was fair and light, and the Admiral was making the final preparations before they were to be sent to fight the newly formed Nocee Empire. Little did the Admiral know it was going to be a miserable voyage.

Princess Zarmos III of Kamo was the Admiral of the voyage. She had fought her way to the top, led many ships to victory, and was even feared by the mermaids of the Copper Seas. She fought and slew every race under the sun. Her naval intellect was 2nd to none. This mission was going to be no different.

The overall mission was simple: cripple the Nocee Fleet so that trade would be disrupted and cut the supply lines. This would hopefully force the Nocee Empire to reorganize or have to spend time and effort to build a whole new fleet. This would then lead to fewer resources at the Siege of Kamo and hopefully end it in a Kamo victory. The stakes were high.

After loading everything and everyone was in position the ships finally set sail, 4 days ahead of schedule. However, this ended up backfiring because, within 2 days of setting sail, the fleet faced a terrible storm. The first thing was the sight of the storm. The second thing was the ever-increasing wind speed which began to slow the ships. Then came the crashing waves which began to get bigger and bigger, and many sailors and supplies were swept overboard. The winds kept shifting directions. It was said that a couple ships got lost and were never found. However, Admiral Zarmos stood firm and had a couple of her men steer the wheel as she ordered them which direction to take. She then promoted her second in command while she went down to her room to look at the maps and make sure they were on course. Once she figured out where they were she made a couple of notes and made her way back to the upper decks. She got outside on the deck, only the find sailors scrambling as the wind was pushing them in the wrong direction. After doing a couple of mental calculations in her head she went back to the steering wheel and told her men "TURN PORTSIDE, AT LEAST 20 DEGREES, AND THEN KEEP THE SHIP STEADY." The sailors at the wheel overturned and they tried backtracking but the desirable angle was almost impossible to make with the winds and waves constantly pushing the ship in and out of position. Many other commanders were trying to follow her lead but it led to a couple of them crashing into each other and having to be saved by other ships nearby. As if that was not enough, mermaids began to attack using their tridents and magic. "Great, another type of wind," Zarmos said to herself. "I bet they were using the storm to mask their approach in order to create an ambush." After a quick fight, the mermaids left, taking more sailors and supplies with them to the deep dark depths. Luckily none of her ships sank.

Big waves and heavy wind were still problems though. After ensuring her ship was on the right track, she added more sailors to the wheel to try and stop it from swinging off. The remaining sailors were still scrambling to try and secure their supplies and lower the sails. However, the strong winds made it extremely difficult because the sail kept getting swayed in all directions. Many of the sailors got severe rope burns, but the salt water and desire to live kept them from feeling the pain. After many hours, the storm had passed.

Zarmos told the captain of her ship to take accountability and see what was lost or missing. She then had the V-formation flag raised so that she could give the same orders to the rest of her ships. After accountability was taken the news shocked her. 3 ships worth of sailors and supplies were sunk by either the storm or the mermaids. There were many survivors but most of their leadership was gone. So, Zarmos reorganized her forces and set sail once again. She decided they would keep going but at a slower pace so that her sailors could get some rest, and get healed by the clerics if need be.

After night fell they began to pick up pace. They were roughly a day ahead of schedule, which could still possibly be enough time for them to surprise the Nocee Fleet. By the next dawn, the strength of the winds increased a lot from the direction they went, and many of the sailors thought they going to another storm, but there were no storm clouds in sight. This meant that there were some Wind Elemental Sorcerers nearby trying to delay Zarmos' fleet. It also meant they knew they were coming. Zarmos got her sailors in battle positions and began to lower the sails. After picking up speed her sailors began to eagerly wait for the sorcerers to make their appearance, but they never did. Only to still be blasted by the wind from far away.

After all that time they finally made it to where the Nocee Fleet was supposed to be, but they found nothing there except for a port city. So they became a blockade. This did not go well because the hidden Wind Sorcerers began to blast the fleet with all their might. This rocked the ships but didn't do any damage to any, so they gathered together to summon another storm. Before their ritual could be completed; they were met with Counterspells, divine magic, and even a bit of arcane spells. They picked off one by one until a tiny storm came and tried to sink one of the ships but failed to leave any real damage.

Then came the rest of the fleet. Who was hiding in the rocks and cliffs. None of them were bigger or had any firepower equal to Zarmos' ship. Her fleet began firing spells and cannonballs at the Nocee Fleet. They responded accordingly. Even though their backs were against the wall. Zarmos knew they could win, all they needed was a large enough opening to squeeze her ship and swing around to open up more spots for the rest of the fleet.

Then came the opening she was looking for. She had her ship turn and go as fast as it could. Her ship was then getting shot at from many directions, but her ship pushed through. One of the Nocee ships tried to block hers but it got even slammed into and ended up being sliced in half. Then came the mermaids again. They attacked every ship from both sides and even had their sorcerers summon another storm. This time it was worse than the last one. Ships began to rock up and down. huge waves began crashing into all the ships. pushing them into each other. Both fleets had to fight each other and the storm. The battle was ferocious and chaotic: ships and sailors sank to the bottom of the port, and mermaids killed anyone who survived. Several ships rammed into each other and both sides would run across the decks and fight each other. Spells were cast, cannonballs were fired, and swords were clanged together

Zarmos' ship was no different. 2 ships managed to get to her portside and the other ship was on the opposite side. They sent many sailors swinging and trying to board her ship but they were quickly killed as they landed. The storm was making things difficult to turn or give any orders. However, Zarmos' sailors obeyed any orders they managed to hear soon they were able to angle themselves so that they could fire upon one of the ships without fear of retaliation. They sank it and saw the mermaids climb aboard and drag the sailors down with them.

They did the same to the second ship and a similar scene played out. Now that Zarmos' was free and uncontested she sought out to free the rest of her fleet. After a long and gruesome fight, she freed her fleet and they had won. The mermaids left with their spoils as they were the true victors of the battle.

After resupplying at the port. Zarmos' fleet sailed back to Kamo. There she was rewarded with cheers from the king and his council. After celebrating her victory. The king asked her a simple question: "Will you go out, beyond the walls, and fight as Kamo's champion against Noone." he asked. "It will be an honor, and perhaps finally end this siege once and for all." was her response. Little did she know the worst storm of her life was about to sweep her away.