The Portal
05-02-2018, 03:57 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-02-2018, 05:05 AM by Calhoun Ryder.)
“SPEED?!”
It was a fierce roar that broke above the howling winds and crashing waves, thick with a rasp and an accent like no other. The gale behind them as strong as the one in the fierce stormy blue eyes Silence from starboard for some time as the line was dropped to the water and the timer turned over in the hands of two crewmen. Silence that was as loud as the squall that filled their sails. “TIME!” One man bellowed.
“13 KNOTS!” The reply.
Quicky it was repeated by the man who called the time. A growl, ungodly in sound fled the throat of the demon as he lifted his gaze upward. He knew all too well the reason they were slow. Well, slow for The Ranger. “RIGGERS I WANT THOSE FUCKIN’ TOPGALLANTS UNFURLED!” The silence that filled the deck Ryder had come to know well. Fear. Fear of a mast snapping in this gale with topgallants raised. But there was no hesitation in their Captain. “IF I DON’T HAVE RIGGERS IN MY MASTS IN FIVE SECONDS I’LL KEELHAUL EVERY FUCKIN’ LAST ONE OF YEH! THAT WASN’T A REQUEST! IT WAS AN ORDER!”
Boots hit the deck and Calhoun Ryder turned his attention to the rigging, watching the men climb upward. Towards the dark sky as the wind howled and the rain pelted the deck filling the air with the scent of sulfur rank and strong. The thunder growled like demons and the lightning raked the waves. Perhaps the most dangerous job one could be asked to do on a ship was serving as a rigger and certainly far more dangerous with the storm summoned by their Captain throwing rain and wind in every direction. Most often when the crew of The Ranger was forced to bury a man at sea it was a rigger. These men climbed the masts in the worst of conditions to unfurl and furl sails. The risk of slipping was great. And it was a long drop to the deck below.
But the rewards outweighed the risk for far too many. Many of whom met an early grave. And while the pirate might seem unfeeling when faced with that death it never failed to strike him hard when he lost anyone. His crew was truly the family he never had. The sea his home and losing family was always a heavy blow. But it seemed to mean something to those willing to sign on when they saw their first battle. As they watched their Captain lead the charge rather than issue orders from the deck. Ryder had one unspoken rule on his ship and it was the first one over the rail was him.
He felt the Ranger groan, sails snapping in the gale force winds and he let a smirk touch his angled, harsh features. “Helmsman bring her up into that headwind.” The man nodded and like Hell itself had spat her out, The Ranger leaped through the next swell as she found her headwind. A calloused hand set itself on the rail as he watched the men on the deck below. “SPEED?” Ryder swung his attention to the men at starboard, waiting once more for their current speed. “15 KNOTS AND HOLDING, CAPTAIN!” Ryder nodded. “That will do just fine, I want yeh boys ready.” Slowly the demon swung his gaze back to his crew.
“LISTEN UP! We’ll be on her in less than an hour. She’s goin' to fight. That much we can be sure of. She’ll fight. But we won’t give her and quarter! She’s got no chance of outrunnin' us so she’ll likely try to rake us bow to stern. But she don’t fuckin’ know what we are capable of. If she does we are goin' to come about and hit her with a broadside before she can come to bear guns.” The Captain of The Ranger watched the faces of his men for a moment.
“She’s and armed ship of the line, lads but she’s dealin’ with a fuckin' First Rate Man O’War… not only that she’s dealin' with the fuckin’ crew of the Ranger. I don't know a better crew of cutthroat bastards on the seas. We take her and kill every last man on that ship! They are just the first step boys! I promised yeh once and I will promise yeh again. England will pay for her crimes. Against yeh, against yerh brothers in arms and against every last pirate she has hung for darin' stand against her. I swear it to every last one of yeh.”
Ryder watched the faces of the men below. Smiles and nods, Confidence in their Captain despite many holding doubts with themselves. Ryder knew all too well it was their confidence in him that would see them over that rail. And he did not plan to let them down. “Yeh knew yerh duties. I want my gun crews ready, riflemen in the riggin' and the vanguard on the rail by the time she tries to bring her broadsides to bear.” Ryder watched the men set to work and his gaze swung towards what lay ahead of them. With the wind powering them forward the passenger ship had no chance. Ryder forced a breath from his lungs and set a hand on his cutlass as he watched. He could taste the thirst for blood from his crew, it was welling up in him as well. Turning his head calmly he nodded to a man to his port side.
“Run the red flag up…”
The sick grins that spread the faces of his crew brought a slow nod. Every Navy man alive knew to fear a black flag. Especially the jolly roger that flew over the Ranger. But the sight of the red was enough to cause men to leap into the ocean in such terror, more willing to face drowning than meet the crew who ran up the red. Ryder has seen men shoot themselves or turn on each other in their dread. And he could taste the that fear as much as he could smell.
Today there would be no mercy…
Nor any other day for any other Navy ship.
---
A sudden gasp shot from his throat, blue eyes shooting open. For a moment confusion ripped across his features as he tried to place what had happened. The last thing he knew was… the order. He’d give the order to run the red flag up. His mind swam with the sounds of distant cannonfire. Men screamed and the thunder roared. Wind howled. And his head pounded. Searing hot pain shifting through his head and then slowly… down. But the angle was odd. “The… fuck…” Confusion pulled across his features. Something felt… wrong. Actually… everything fucking felt wrong. Sighing the large male pushed him to his feet only to stumbled forward in an odd fall that met with his hands hitting the…. THOSE WEREN’T HANDS!
“THE FUCK IS GOIN’ ON!?”
---
Atmokinesis - Ryder is capable of summoning storms. However they are rather strictly tropical based squalls and gales. They were heavily reliant on his emotions, anger often being the most likely to summon them, sometimes without his desire to do so. These storms are almost strictly limited to being used at sea or on the coast lines at present. At present these storms are short lived (no more than five minutes) and when used at full force are less than a minute long and leaves Ryder entirely exhausted up the possibility of falling unconscious/comatose. This is due to having to adjust his powers to a new body (equine rather than humanoid)
Physical Mutations - Teal colored pelt that seems to be lightly coated in stars, similarly colored stripes on his neck and chest, Teal Hair & Blue Eyes (Image Shows Yellow), Carnivorous Teeth
"Magical" Mutations - Higher Than Normal Body Temperature, Capability To Digest Meat
Other Details- Various Scars & A Brand On His Left Shoulder
Items - Gold Earrings In Ears, Leather Bracers On His Front-Fore Legs, Bet For Cutlass
Enchanted Items - Cutlass capable of throwing/summoning Hellfire - Draws on Ryder’s inner demon and if used too much drops his body temperature to a dangerously low level risking freezing to death from the inside.
It was a fierce roar that broke above the howling winds and crashing waves, thick with a rasp and an accent like no other. The gale behind them as strong as the one in the fierce stormy blue eyes Silence from starboard for some time as the line was dropped to the water and the timer turned over in the hands of two crewmen. Silence that was as loud as the squall that filled their sails. “TIME!” One man bellowed.
“13 KNOTS!” The reply.
Quicky it was repeated by the man who called the time. A growl, ungodly in sound fled the throat of the demon as he lifted his gaze upward. He knew all too well the reason they were slow. Well, slow for The Ranger. “RIGGERS I WANT THOSE FUCKIN’ TOPGALLANTS UNFURLED!” The silence that filled the deck Ryder had come to know well. Fear. Fear of a mast snapping in this gale with topgallants raised. But there was no hesitation in their Captain. “IF I DON’T HAVE RIGGERS IN MY MASTS IN FIVE SECONDS I’LL KEELHAUL EVERY FUCKIN’ LAST ONE OF YEH! THAT WASN’T A REQUEST! IT WAS AN ORDER!”
Boots hit the deck and Calhoun Ryder turned his attention to the rigging, watching the men climb upward. Towards the dark sky as the wind howled and the rain pelted the deck filling the air with the scent of sulfur rank and strong. The thunder growled like demons and the lightning raked the waves. Perhaps the most dangerous job one could be asked to do on a ship was serving as a rigger and certainly far more dangerous with the storm summoned by their Captain throwing rain and wind in every direction. Most often when the crew of The Ranger was forced to bury a man at sea it was a rigger. These men climbed the masts in the worst of conditions to unfurl and furl sails. The risk of slipping was great. And it was a long drop to the deck below.
But the rewards outweighed the risk for far too many. Many of whom met an early grave. And while the pirate might seem unfeeling when faced with that death it never failed to strike him hard when he lost anyone. His crew was truly the family he never had. The sea his home and losing family was always a heavy blow. But it seemed to mean something to those willing to sign on when they saw their first battle. As they watched their Captain lead the charge rather than issue orders from the deck. Ryder had one unspoken rule on his ship and it was the first one over the rail was him.
He felt the Ranger groan, sails snapping in the gale force winds and he let a smirk touch his angled, harsh features. “Helmsman bring her up into that headwind.” The man nodded and like Hell itself had spat her out, The Ranger leaped through the next swell as she found her headwind. A calloused hand set itself on the rail as he watched the men on the deck below. “SPEED?” Ryder swung his attention to the men at starboard, waiting once more for their current speed. “15 KNOTS AND HOLDING, CAPTAIN!” Ryder nodded. “That will do just fine, I want yeh boys ready.” Slowly the demon swung his gaze back to his crew.
“LISTEN UP! We’ll be on her in less than an hour. She’s goin' to fight. That much we can be sure of. She’ll fight. But we won’t give her and quarter! She’s got no chance of outrunnin' us so she’ll likely try to rake us bow to stern. But she don’t fuckin’ know what we are capable of. If she does we are goin' to come about and hit her with a broadside before she can come to bear guns.” The Captain of The Ranger watched the faces of his men for a moment.
“She’s and armed ship of the line, lads but she’s dealin’ with a fuckin' First Rate Man O’War… not only that she’s dealin' with the fuckin’ crew of the Ranger. I don't know a better crew of cutthroat bastards on the seas. We take her and kill every last man on that ship! They are just the first step boys! I promised yeh once and I will promise yeh again. England will pay for her crimes. Against yeh, against yerh brothers in arms and against every last pirate she has hung for darin' stand against her. I swear it to every last one of yeh.”
Ryder watched the faces of the men below. Smiles and nods, Confidence in their Captain despite many holding doubts with themselves. Ryder knew all too well it was their confidence in him that would see them over that rail. And he did not plan to let them down. “Yeh knew yerh duties. I want my gun crews ready, riflemen in the riggin' and the vanguard on the rail by the time she tries to bring her broadsides to bear.” Ryder watched the men set to work and his gaze swung towards what lay ahead of them. With the wind powering them forward the passenger ship had no chance. Ryder forced a breath from his lungs and set a hand on his cutlass as he watched. He could taste the thirst for blood from his crew, it was welling up in him as well. Turning his head calmly he nodded to a man to his port side.
“Run the red flag up…”
The sick grins that spread the faces of his crew brought a slow nod. Every Navy man alive knew to fear a black flag. Especially the jolly roger that flew over the Ranger. But the sight of the red was enough to cause men to leap into the ocean in such terror, more willing to face drowning than meet the crew who ran up the red. Ryder has seen men shoot themselves or turn on each other in their dread. And he could taste the that fear as much as he could smell.
Today there would be no mercy…
Nor any other day for any other Navy ship.
---
A sudden gasp shot from his throat, blue eyes shooting open. For a moment confusion ripped across his features as he tried to place what had happened. The last thing he knew was… the order. He’d give the order to run the red flag up. His mind swam with the sounds of distant cannonfire. Men screamed and the thunder roared. Wind howled. And his head pounded. Searing hot pain shifting through his head and then slowly… down. But the angle was odd. “The… fuck…” Confusion pulled across his features. Something felt… wrong. Actually… everything fucking felt wrong. Sighing the large male pushed him to his feet only to stumbled forward in an odd fall that met with his hands hitting the…. THOSE WEREN’T HANDS!
“THE FUCK IS GOIN’ ON!?”
---
Atmokinesis - Ryder is capable of summoning storms. However they are rather strictly tropical based squalls and gales. They were heavily reliant on his emotions, anger often being the most likely to summon them, sometimes without his desire to do so. These storms are almost strictly limited to being used at sea or on the coast lines at present. At present these storms are short lived (no more than five minutes) and when used at full force are less than a minute long and leaves Ryder entirely exhausted up the possibility of falling unconscious/comatose. This is due to having to adjust his powers to a new body (equine rather than humanoid)
Physical Mutations - Teal colored pelt that seems to be lightly coated in stars, similarly colored stripes on his neck and chest, Teal Hair & Blue Eyes (Image Shows Yellow), Carnivorous Teeth
"Magical" Mutations - Higher Than Normal Body Temperature, Capability To Digest Meat
Other Details- Various Scars & A Brand On His Left Shoulder
Items - Gold Earrings In Ears, Leather Bracers On His Front-Fore Legs, Bet For Cutlass
Enchanted Items - Cutlass capable of throwing/summoning Hellfire - Draws on Ryder’s inner demon and if used too much drops his body temperature to a dangerously low level risking freezing to death from the inside.
1160 WORDS - @Ricochet - Notes
