Toki's Tale

Once the ship had left the harbour, safely away from land, the Norn pulled the robes from his head. His fur was also black, but his hair was dark blue. The sailors on the ship all wore black too, with blackened weapons hanging from their belts.
"Aren't you afraid that you might be mistaken for pirates?" Toki asked, looking up at the black flags fluttering on the mast.
"It's not a mistake," laughed one sailor.
"You're pirates?"
"Only when killing people doesn't pay well."
"Killing? Don't tell me you're-"
"Assassins," said the Norn. He extended a hand. "Imshan le Jayr at you service. I assure you, we are not going to kill you."
"What, then?" Toki asked.
"We're going to offer you a job..."

Toki spent the rest of the journey in her cabin. The sea was exciting at first, but quickly became monotonous. The crew was pleasant enough, although the fact they killed people for a living unnerved her a bit. Some of the stories they told at night were a little too morbid for her.
There was a loud knock on her door, and she suddenly she realised that the ship was rocking much more that it had been.
"Toki?" Imshan called through the door. "We need you help. Come quickly."
Toki swung the door open, hitting Imshan on the way. He reeled back, clutching his head. He looked up and grinned foolishly.
"Ouch! That hurt a bit," he muttered, getting up from the wooden floor. "We need your help on deck."
"What for?"
"Storm's blowing up, and we've spotted a great shark nearby. We might need some help discouraging it from attacking the boat."
"A shark?" Toki laughed, half-remembering pictures from her lessons at the monastery. How tough could that possibly be?

"THAT'S A SHARK?" Toki yelled over the howling wind. Imshan nodded vigourously. She turned and looked again at the massive dorsal fin. It almost reached the deck of the ship, and the huge shadow that moved beneath it was larger than the ship itself. It surfaced, and Toki caught a glimpse of a tiny black eye, cold and glassy, and a mouthful of teeth as long as her arm.
"How the eem am I meant to kill that?"
"Extreme violence always works with us," replied Imshan, shrugging. "Besides, you don't have to actually kill the thing. Just maim it a little."
"A little? You'd need a shipload of-"
"Professional killers?" Inquired a voice. Both Toki and Imshan turned to look. Standing in the doorway to the main cabin was a young Assassin. His hair was black and hung in locks down his face. His eyes were pale blue, like ice crystals. On his head was a thin crown of silver, and strapped to his back was a long sword unlike one Toki had ever seen before.
"Toki," Imshan said, "allow me to introduce you to Prince Laen Shanir. Laen, this is Toki."
"I am no longer a Prince, Imshan," Laen said levelly, even though he looked at least ten years younger than Imshan.
"How?" Toki asked curiously. Laen gave her a small smile.
"I died," he said.
"But... you..." Toki mumbled.
"The Assassins brought me back to life," Laen said. "They were... nearby when I died."
"They killed you?"
"We certainly did not!" Imshan exclaimed. "He was killed by our target before we could properly dispose of him."
"Who was the target?"
"My uncle, actually. Not a very nice person. He had it coming, really," said Laen, smiling. He stumbled slightly when the ship rocked. He glanced at the huge dorsal fin and sighed. "Shall we dispose of this shark?"
"Bring us back enough to eat, Laen," chuckled Imshan. Laen grinned and ran at full tilt towards the shark. He leapt with amazing agility
and seemed to soar towards the shark. He landed with a heavy thump on the shark's back and waved to the ship.
"Coming, Toki?"
Toki sighed and launched upwards, spread her wings and glided swiftly towards the shark. She landed right next to Laen and glanced around.
"We're on the shark. What now? And was he serious about eating this thing?"
"Of course not. Shark meat tastes like stale boot," Laen said, and placed a hand on the shark's smooth skin. Toki looked around nervously. They seemed to be only slightly more stable on the shark, but at least the ship couldn't dive at any second.
"Look, what are you doing? Can't we just kill the thing?"
"Oh, please," sighed Laen. "It'd kill us before we'd even tried anything. No, Imshan knows full well what I should do."
Toki noticed a glimmer of blue light around Laen's hand, spreading outwards and fading like ripples on a pond. His eyes were shut and
beads of sweat trickled down his face, despite the freezing wind beating at them. The nimbus of blue light seemed to surround him, and
suddenly the sky rang with thunder. Toki looked up to see the lightning, and then realised it was a voice.
"I hunger..."
It was louder than the gale, and made tremors dance up and down Toki's spine. Suddenly, she heard Laen's voice, amplified as loud as the first voice.
"Leave."
"Must feed..." Moaned the bodiless voice, and it dawned on Toki it belonged to the shark.
"Leave!" Laen's voiced snapped, sounding much angrier. Toki could see him shake to the sound and rhythm of each word.
"Hunger... Feed..."
"Leave!"
"HUNGER!" The shark roared, and Laen flew backwards, propelled by an invisible hand, into the ocean. Toki stood, horrified, and turned to the shark. She unsheathed her claws and dug them viciously into the shark. The massive bulk underneath her flinched.
"LEAVE NOW!" Toki screamed at the top of her lungs, her throat aching. She clamped her eyes shut and held on tighter.
"Hunger..."
"THEN YOU SHALL DIE!"
Toki dug her claws in tighter, and opened her eyes. The shark was turning slowly away from the boat and sinking under the water.
"Yield to gargoyle... Trust in you... Know your mother... Toki..."
The shark rumbled like apocalyptic thunder. Toki blinked in shock. Had she heard what she thought she had heard?
"Wait-!"
But the shark was going under the water and so, she realised, was she. The murky waters closed over her head and she struggled to pull her claws free from the shark's hide.
"Trust..."
The light grew dimmer and dimmer overhead, and Toki felt like her lungs would burst. She wrenched her claws free of the shark, but instead of rising began to sink faster. She kicked and tried to push upwards with her wings, but the faint light above dwindled further and further away. Passing into blackness, she tumbled lifeless to the bottom of the ocean.

Chapter 7

Chapter 9