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Disclaimer - Skies of Arcadia is copyright Sega and Overworks. I don't own these characters, places etc. Please don't sue me, if you do you'll be disappointed because I have no money anyway.

This is my first fic, I've been humouring the idea of writing one for some time. I finally thought ahh what the hell what have I got to lose. Comments and suggestions are appreciated, send 'em to adamcannon@ic24.net.

Wrath of a god
by A. Cannon (no pun intended ;)

Chapter 1 - I hate this place

3 years later

The market of Nasr was extremely crowded this time of day. Everywhere could be seen people milling about, on their way to buy their wares. Market stands stood everywhere with people selling goods from over the world, from intricately woven rugs, to the latest weapons for the wary sailor. Despite the heat from the red moon the people moved around as if un-touched by it. Except of course for Aika. She hated this place. Maybe it was due to the fact that she had been stranded here with Fina several years ago. That was the first time she had ever been separated from Vyse. That fortnight had been dreadful for her, not knowing weather her best friend was dead or alive. Ever since they were small children growing up on Pirate Isle the two had always been together. They were inseparable, and yet they were forced apart by fate. Once the three were finally re-united she swore to herself that she would never set foot on here again. And now where was she - soaking in sweat under that blasted red moon trying to haggle with some moron who can't see sense - I hate this heat, I hate this idiot, and I hate this place, she thought again.

"Look," she said her patience wearing thin "I'm telling you I'm not going to give you more than one thousand gold for them."

Aika was fuming, ten minutes she had been talking to the person in front of her. I swear I am going to murder Vyse when I see him. She chuckled to herself imagining someway she could get even with him. She was wearing her standard orange top and skirt with blue belt. She always wore this when she had to go sailing to some far off place. She found it the most comfortable and it was easier to fight in than most of the other stuff she had. Now however she was beginning to wish she put something lighter on. Her red hair was lose down her shoulders, something she had taken a liking to. She had finally decided to get rid of the two wild stuck up pony tails.

"I'm telling you that I cannot except less than fifteen hundred," answered the merchant in his Nasr accent. He was wearing baggy white clothing which covered him entirely head to foot. The only place not covered was his face. He looked to have come straight out of the desert. Probably from of the caravans that travelled the Nasr continent.

"Fine," Aika exploded in his face "then we'll go somewhere else."

"Good luck," answered the merchant "you wont find moon stones anywhere for the price I'm offering. That’s the cheapest you'll find I guarantee you."

I hate this place, she thought once more. She knew the merchant was probably right. She and Fina had been wondering through the market for the best part of three hours looking for the elusive moon stones that powered their ship. Nasr may be haven a for other odds and ends but moon stones were harder to come by here than anywhere else. And Vyse had to send me to find them, she thought, but she refused to be beaten by this merchant. She was stubborn and hated to admit defeat more than she hated Nasr. More than she hated the heat? Well maybe that was a close tie.

Fina sensing her friends wounded pride would probably have them wondering around the market for the rest of day, decided to act. "Perhaps sir, you would except maybe twelve hundred," she said.

"Fina!," shouted Aika "how can even consider..." but the merchant decided to interrupt her.

"I will make it thirteen hundred for one as beautiful as yourself," he answered regarding her. Fina's clothing had changed almost completely from the usual Silvite garb that she used to wear. The colours were still the same whites, she refused to give up completely her heritage no matter what had happened several years ago, but gone was the long dress. Instead she wore something looser and more befitting of the pirate life that she had chosen.

Before Aika could shout out her retort she spoke again "We accept sir, fifteen moon stones for thirteen hundred gold. Aika would you hand over the gold please?" she said flashing her don't disagree look. She had come along way from the usually quiet person that she had been when she first meet Aika and Vyse. The few years had seen her open up from the shy person she always been into the person she was now. She was still the same person, but she was always willing to speak her mind openly without fear that she would be ridiculed. This was especially useful in situations like this. Aika's temper had gotten them into trouble more than once. She wasn't always this grouchy. In fact she was normally fairly cheerful all the time, but every now and then her fuse would be lit and it would only be a matter of time before things got out of hand. The added heat from red moon shortened this fuse immensely. She groaned inwardly, it was going to be a long trek back to the Delphinus.

After finally figuring out that she wasn't going to win this one Aika more or less throw the gold at the merchant, but not before giving him a look that could cause even the hardened blade master to shiver. The merchant handed the moon stones to Fina "pleasure doing business with you," he spoke. He flashed Aika a triumphant grin causing her to nearly lash out at him until Fina stopped her.

Like Fina guessed the walk back to the Delphinus was a long one. Aika carried on a one sided argument with herself which Fina just ignored. She had learned long ago that nothing she said would make a difference. In fact it was more than likely to make it worse. It was best just let her blow of her steam this way. They made their way through the market stools scattered around. The shouts of the various merchants were mixed up with the people talking as they cried out their wares. As they got to the central square Fina took a quick look around. Everything looked exactly as it had before the Armada attacked. All the buildings were re-built where they were, the Nasultans palace was back in all its splender. The only change she could see was the small pond with the fountain. The monument that used to be there had vanished leaving the pond looking rather boring. Aika had quieted down as they passed under the large wall and made their way through the docks, passing the smaller vessels. They passed a lot of sailors on their way to the Delphinus. Most were loading large crates and hauling the supplies purchases in Nasr into their ships. A few merchants had closed up shop earlier and were re-loading the stuff that they didn't sell back into their ships.

The Delphinus could be seen easily in the distance. The suns light reflected off of the ship's light blue and grey hull leaving the whole ship sparkling. The ship easily dwarfed all the other vessels in the port. Most were not even a quarter of the Delphinus size. Its cannons gleamed menacingly reflecting the sunlight off of the barrels. At the top of the ship the flag which Fina had selected all those years ago still flew. The ancient animal of the ships namesake. Fina called it a dolphin and the ship fit the description perfectly. Aika looked down towards the floor ignoring the sites around her.

"Look Fina, I'm... erm... I'm... sorry OK. I just got annoyed at the merchant, I..." Aika was groping for the words to say but couldn't quite find them.

"Its ok Aika," Fina spoke up "it's already forgotten."

The usual mischievous grin appeared back on Aika's face "Thanks, now lets get these things to Vyse and get the hell out of this place."

Fina smiled back glad that her friend was feeling better, glad that the trip back home wasn't going turn out as bad as she feared. "Good idea," she answered.

Vyse was up on the deck of the Delphinus, his brown eyes looking down at the people below as they shuffled around loading cargo. A couple of the ships were pulling out of the port, about to set sail for their home, or maybe another city for them to sell their wares. Vyse was in his usual blue top, with the sleeves hanging on by straps. He was wraped in a large brown leather belt from which his two swords hung at his side. A hot breeze blew his shaggy brown hair around. Despite it being a little windy up here on the deck it was still no respite from the heat of the red moon. The breeze did little more than make him feel even more uncomfortable. Where are they he thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted by a call from the lookout.

"Cap'n," shouted down a deep voice.

Vyse turned around, spotting the figure high above the bridge, he couldn't see who it was but he knew it was Nester. That deep voice was unmistakable, and he would be the only one who was stupid enough to still be at his post when he had ordered everyone, except the ones that he had get the fresh supplies, to take it easy for a few hours. "Do you see them?" he called.

"Aye Cap'n," the lookout shouted "you should be able to see them now."

Vyse looked back down and sure enough there they were, just appearing past a merchant ship that had blocked his view from the rest of the docks. He decided to go down and meet them. "Nester." he called to the lookout.

"Cap'n?,"

"Tell everyone else to get back to their posts, we'll be leaving shortly."

"Aye aye, Cap'n Vyse."

Vyse smiled to himself, he couldn't believe how much his life had changed. From the moment he rescued Fina from Alfonso his small life had been turned upside down. In a matter of months he had gone from being Vyse the nobody, simply a boy with a dream of one day becoming the captain of his ship, to Vyse the legend. Someone who couldn't go anywhere without someone knowing who he was. His old dreams had been fulfilled to some extent. He was the captain of his own ship, not just any ship, but the most powerful to sail under the six moons. He had even journeyed beyond the sunset. He laughed to himself then, how childish that had seemed. A dream to sail beyond the sunset. Yet he had done it in a way, he had sailed across the world and proven that it was round. He had seen practically all the world, yet there was always that little more to discover. Still now that his old dreams were fulfilled he seemed strangely empty. Perhaps, he thought, that dreams shouldn't be fulfilled. Perhaps ones dreams should remain as a goal that you can never reach, so that you always try to reach for that goal and give your life purpose. No, it wasn't as if his life didn't have purpose, it was just that he found something... lacking. Some empty void within him that had gone unfulfilled.

He shoved those thoughts aside when he finally saw Aika and Fina through the crowd. Aika was jumping up and down in her usual excited way trying to get his attention. "About time you two decided to show up," he said grinning "I was about to call a search party."

Aika spoke up then a frown appearing on her face, "Well if you hadn't given me and Fina the near impossible task of finding some moon stones in this god forsaken place then maybe..."

"We got the moon stones Vyse, but we could only got fifteen, it was hard enough getting them," said Fina, interrupting Aika.

"No problem, they should keep us going for a few weeks at least. We can probably pick some up at Sailors Island later," answered Vyse. "Well once you ladies get back on board we'll be leaving for home, all the supplies are packed."

The three made their way up to the Delphinus. As they entered the ship Aika let an audible sigh escape her lips. The Delphinus was a lot cooler than outside. The air conditioners inside the ship were working overtime. The walls inside the ship were a dull grey, with various pipes running along its length carrying the varies wires that were critical to its operation. Small lights were placed on the large steel cross beams along the ceiling that held up the weight of the ship. On the right were small round portholes looking to the outside. Directly in front was a staircase leading to the level that held the bridge, it was these stairs that trio were now climbing. There was a white steel door directly in front with its frame lined with gold, this was the door that lead to the bridge.

As soon as Vyse entered the first he saw was the large windows directly in front. They ran the entire width of the bridge and rapped around it at either side, peering outside at the desert city of Nasr. Directly in the front of the bridge was his new trainee helmsmen, Hob. Hob was a young kid, barely older than what Vyse was when he got to fly his first ship. Which was why he had let him join up, he reminded him so much of himself at his age. He could still remember the look on the kids face when Vyse had asked him to fly the Delphinus to Nasr this morning, the kid seemed to have been in heaven. Tikacomar was hobbling over his shoulder. His bright red and yellow cloths seemed to be brighter than the sun. Vyse had often wondered how he could walk around with that get up on. Still what should he expect from someone from Ixa'Taxa. The two were more or less the same age and had arrived at Crescent Island about the same time. It was no surprise that the two had quickly formed a close friendship. Regardless of the cultural difference the two seemed to get on really well. Now however, wasn't the time for the two to be engaged in conversation.

"Comar, we'll be leaving in a second, you should be in the engine room. I expect Ray will be wondering where you are by now." Comer was the nick-name that everyone called Tikacomar. Everyone just found the rest to be too much of a mouthful. Aika couldn’t pronounce it at all.

The kid seemed to shrink inwardly, he knew vary well that Ray was going to run him ragged in the engine room for being late. Ray was the chief engineer on the Delphinus, and seemed to think of the main engines as his baby. He was good a person usually but he didn't take to kindly to people not pulling their own weight.

"Yes Captain," came the small reply. Comar quickly ran from the bridge.

Aika and Fina walked past Vyse towards the controls over on the right hand side of the room. More switches and levers adorned its surface, one side was for communications which Fina occupied, the other was weapons which Aika occupied. It was difficult to pry Aika from the weapons station so he had decided to make her the official main gunner aboard the ship. Plus she was pretty good at the position as well, she had a good aim and hit the enemy practically every time.

On the left hand side of the bridge stood another area of controls and panels. This was currently un-occupied. It was used for engineering purposes so that the ship could be tweaked from the bridge. Adjusting engine output, that kind of thing. Ray would usually occupy this section but he was down in engineering performing a small bit of maintenance, and probably scolding Comar at this very moment.

At the far end of the bridge up against the wall stood the captains chair. It was this chair that Vyse headed for now. Yep, he thought as he sat down I've come a long way.

"Fina," he said "Tell everyone to get back to their stations."

"Aye aye, captain," came Fina's reply.

"Hob," he said turning to the kid at the front of the bridge. "Take us home."

Hob let out an enthusiastic "Yes Captain" and cranked the Delphinus into reverse. The sound of the engines coming to life hummed through the deck of the ship.

Slowly the great ship began to pull out of the docks of Nasr, its blue and grey hull glinting in the sunlight. Once the ship was clear of the docks the ship turned sharply to the left, still moving backwards. Finally the large propellers slowed, stopped, then proceeded to speed up again in the opposite direction propelling the ship forward out of the Nasr docks completely to head for Crescent Island.

It had been another one of those days for Captain Baltor of the black rouges. Not only had the ship that they had been pursuing for a number of days escaped with barely a scratch, but now he discovered that he had finished off the barrel of loqua. He stood there holding his empty gold goblet looking into the empty loqua barrel to see if it really was all gone. This was the last barrel of loqua onboard the Blackbeard. Already his party of cut-throats were beginning to get restless. He was going to have to do the unthinkable, he was going to have to actually buy a fresh barrel of loqua. It was an all time low. The very idea of purchasing an item was repulsive to say the least. Never again would he be able to look into the mirror and see the man that had pillaged countless villages, slit many a throat, and burned many a ship. All he would see would be the loser that he had become, someone who couldn't even capture a simple merchant ship.

He looked around at his cabin, it was a medium sized wooden room. All the stuff he had pillaged over the years that he deemed worth something were stored in here. Priceless paintings were stacked in one corner of the room, a thick layer of dust covering them. On a table in the far side of his cabin stood several solid gold artefacts from jewellery, to candle stick holders, to simple kitchen utensils, all were solid gold. Inside a large golden bowl in the centre of the wooden table were jewels of varying shapes, sizes and colours. Some were a deep blood red, while others seemed to shine in a light all of their own. A simple gas lantern stood at one corner of the wooden table giving light to the cabin. The shadows cast by its flame flickered on the far wall where his bed lay, sheets thrown haphazardly about. And there directly in front of him stood the empty loqua barrel. His gaze lingered on it once more, it stood there not moving as if to mock him. Then lifted one mighty foot and kicked the empty barrel across the room, letting a growl escape him. The barrel hit the table directly in front of it sending gold and gems flying about, the lantern hit the floor breaking open setting fire the wooden planks about it.

"ARGH," he shouted at the flames before running over to stamp them out. He looked then at his handiwork, the broken gas lantern lay in several pieces scattered about the charcoal stained floor. Half burned sheets that he had used to aid him in putting out the fire lay around his feet. He grinned then to himself. That had seemed strangely satisfying as he took his anger out on his floor.

Just then there came a knock at his cabin door "WHAT?" he yelled at it.

"Cap'n," came the muffled reply "we've spotted a ship roughly two miles from us. It's the Delphinus."

And then Baltor laughed to himself perhaps today wont turn out to bad after all, he thought. Someone is definitely going to hang today.

Shortly after leaving the Nasr docks Vyse had found himself in the ship's galley. The galley was the largest room in the ship, the place looked like it should belong in a royal palace, not a pirate ship. A large wooden walkway was suspended above the galley which passed from one end to the next. A spiral staircase provided access to the walkway. In the centre of the room high on the ceiling hung a large crystal chandelier. At night when it was switched on the light would filter through the crystals making rainbows dance across the walls and floor. Paintings of ships and towns hung scattered around the walls. At the far end of the galley under the suspended walkway was the kitchen where the three triplet sisters would cook meal after meal for the people living on board. Only one of the sisters was on board the ship at the moment. She was currently behind one of the large stoves preparing the days meal, her long brown hair, pulled behind her so as not to get in the way, was trailing down her apron. The smell of her cooking wafted over to Vyse who was sitting at one of the tables on the far side next to one of the large windows looking out at the clouds. Vyse was closed off to all that however, he was absorbed in memories of days gone by. About their first journey onboard the Delphinus when the young Prince Enrique had first joined their motley crew.

It had been at least a year since he had last seen Enrique. He and his wife Moegi had successfully rebuilt Value out of the ashes of the Rains of Destruction. With the aid of Izmael the Valuen Empire had risen once more. Valua was more or less completely re-built, though without the divide that separated the two classes so. Now everybody there was treated as equals. The young Emperor and Empress had done a fine job with the place.

"Are you planning to just sit there by yourself all day Captain?"

Vyse was suddenly jarred out of his thoughts, he had been so lost in memory that he hadn't realised that the cook had come over to him. She was in her mid twenties and in possession of one of the most stunning figures that Vyse had clapped eyes on in a long time. She still wore her plain white apron but that only seemed to make her look even more beautiful, if that was possible. She regarded him with deep blue eyes. Her other two sisters looked almost identical to her, it was easy to see why there had been an increase in the number of people wanting to join the Blue Rogues lately. In her arms she carried a try with a small bowl of steaming soup, and two metal goblets of fresh loqua.

"I thought you might like something to eat."

It was then that Vyse realised just how hungry he was. He had gone the entire day so far without so much as a piece of bread, he was absolutely famished. "That was very thoughtful of you Carela, thanks."

"Thoughtful? Not really, I could hear you stomach rumbling away from over there," she said with a friendly smile.

"Yeah, I guess it can get kinda noisy," he laughed. Carela could always make people laugh no matter what the situation. They could be half dead and she'd still find a way to find something funny about the situation. She possessed a knack at being able to cheer people up when they down. If someone had a problem, Carela would be the one to talk to about it. She placed the bowl of hot soup and a goblet of the precious loqua next to Vyse.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked.

Vyse indicated the seat opposite him which she promptly sat down on, took the other metal goblet, and shoved the tray aside.

"Ahh, that’s better," came her cheerful voice "I haven’t had a chance to sit down in hours. You know maybe you should..."

She didn't have a chance to finish the sentence. A loud siren split through the noise of cooking food as several red warning light were lit up on the walls. The klaxons died down as Fina's voice came throughout the ship "All personal report to battle stations this is not a drill, I repeat, all personal report to battle stations this is not a drill. Captain Vyse please come to the bridge immediately." Her voice was cut off to replaced again by the loud klaxons.

Vyse still had the spoon full of soup positioned half way between the bowl and his mouth. "I wonder what that’s about," he said getting up "whoever it is has terrible timing."

"Don't worry," said Carela flashing him another of her famous smiles "I'll keep it warm for you."

"Thanks Carela," he said before heading to the bridge.

The klaxons continued to sound as he made his way to the bridge, people who had been off duty were running around to their designated position to prepare for what awaited them.

"What’s happening," he shouted as he made it to the bridge. The noise of the klaxons swallowing his voice. "Someone turn that dam thing off." The klaxons went silent but the red warning lights continued, evidently someone had heard him. "What’s happening," he repeated.

"Vyse," called Aika from the weapons control "Its Baltor's ship, the Blackbeard, coming in fast. Nester spotted it not long ago hiding in some clouds. Now their coming right for us."

"Baltor again," groaned Vyse "that guys persistent. You had me worried there for an instant Fina, I thought it was an emergency." Baltor had attempted to attack the ship several times. In fact this was the fifth time in that last three months. He was beginning to get some what annoying, why doesn't the guy just give up. "Where is he?" he asked.

"One thousand meters, coming in from the North-West."

"Think you can handle it Hob?" asked Vyse. The kid hadn't seen any battles yet. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to get him used to the ship. The Blackbeard didn't exactly pose much of a fret to the Delphinus but Baltor always had to try to take her down at every opportunity. Usually it made good target practise.

"No problem Captain Vyse," came Hob's confidant reply.

Vyse sat down in the captains chair at the end of the bridge. "Ok, Hob bring the ship on a North-West heading, lets head straight for him. Aika, charge up the Moonstone Cannon, as soon as we get an opening you know what to do. Load the torpedo launchers and prepare all cannons. Lets make this quick, I don't know about the rest of you but I want to get home as soon as possible."

"Aye aye," came Aika's and Hob's reply.

"Fina, tell the crew to prepare for battle."

"Aye aye Vys.. erm.. Captain," replied Fina. "Captain, engineering reports that they're having problems with engine number two. They’re warning us not to try to turn the ship too hard to port."

"Thanks Fina, you here that Hob?" asked Vyse.

"Yes Captain."

Ahead the Blackbeard loomed into view. Their many black sails heaved with the wind pushing them forward. The flag of the black rogues could be seen visibly now as it waved in the wind. Still the ship came directly forward with no sign of stopping or slowing down.

"Erm Captain?" asked Hob, now getting slightly worried.

"Hold your course Hob we're going straight through them. Aika, how many torpedoes do we have left?"

"Eight, enough for four volleys, why."

"Good old predictable Baltor," said Vyse to himself. "Hob I want you to keep on going straight ahead. Keep the ship steady until I say. When I tell you to I want you to dive the ship, ok?"

"Ok Captain," replied the kid.

"Aika, if Baltor is as predictable as I think he is he will try to intimidate us first by charging directly towards us. Once we're under the Blackbeard hull I wont to throw every torpedo we have at him, you'll have one shot ok?"

Aika was now grinning from ear to ear as she realised what Vyse planning "Aye aye Cap'n Vyse," she yelled from her corner.

"Fina, give me a countdown of the distance once we're within one hundred meters."

"Aye Captain."

The Blackbeard was now even closer, its cannon ports opening in anticipation of the battle that was about to begin. It got closer still, crew members could be seen scurrying about its wooden deck.

Fina began her countdown, "one hundred meters Vyse."

"Ninety meters...eighty...seventy."

"Captain?" asked Hob.

"Not yet," Vyse shouted.

The Blackbeard appeared to be right on top of them, still it came forward.

"Fifty... forty... thirty... twenty..."

"NOW," Vyse yelled.

Hob pulled a lever straight down which his hand had already been resting on, immediately the Delphinus lurched violently downward, the Blackbeard attempted to rise up to evade a possible impact with the two vessels. The Delphinus passed under the Blackbeard with just two meters to spare, its torpedo tubes opening in anticipation. Immediately as the Blackbeard passed within range of the tubes Aika fired, once, twice, four times. Each impact smacked up against the bottom of the Blackbeard hull causing major damage. The final barrage impacted at the rear of the ship damaging its engines.

"WOO HOO," yelled Aika "Vyse, I mean Cap'n, their limping off. They’ve suffered major damage. I think its going to be a while before Baltor comes after us again."

Slowly the Blackbeard crawled away, still flying but in no way ready to continue the battle that was cut short. Fires raged onboard the ship, on the deck Baltor was enraged. "ARRRGHHH, I SWEAR VYSE IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO I WILL KILL YOU," he yelled.

On the Delphinus however Aika's bad mood that she had had since arriving at Nasr was now completely lifted thanks to Baltor. Vyse walked over to Hob and slapped on him the back "Good work kid, I'll have to have you at the wheel more often."

"Thank you Captain."

"Hey what about me?" asked Aika, annoyance plain on her face from the lack of a complement.

"Well it wasn't exactly that difficult an aim Aika. He was practically on top of us," came Vyse's sarcastic reply. At that Fina burst out laughing, tears streaming from her eyes as she saw the look on Aika's face. As is usual with laughter its very contagious, the rest soon took after Fina until finally everyone, even Aika couldn't stop laughing.

"Hob," said Vyse once he had settled down "resume course for Crescent Isle."

"Aye aye Captain," shouted Hob.

Leave it to Baltor to put a smile on your face, Vyse chuckled to himself again.

The Delphinus rose from the clouds it had descended into as it turned slowly once more to head for head for Crescent Isle. The sun was now low one horizon, turning the blue and grey hull of the ship to oranges and reds. The clouds were now painted with shades of pink as the Delphinus made its way home.

Authors comments

Well that’s the first chapter out of the way. Things do start happening eventually I promise there's nothing wrong with wanting to space events out a little. So what do you people think of my first attempt into the fan fiction world? Have I done it ok, good or just plain awful?