Chapter 10: Tragedy Befalls the Eastern Archipelagos

After her defeat, the unconscious Igrud fell once again into a nightmare she had dreamt, far more than simply once...

"No one's around. Let's go!"

A conspicuous band of young tigerkin sneaked through a village reddened by a setting sun. Their mischief was preplanned, their destination: the beach.

The young cats of the village weren't allowed close to the ocean. The adults told them they were too inexperienced with the tides around the island. As toddlers, they were frightened by detailed fabrications the elder fishermen of the village weaved. Monsters that dwelled below the surface waited to swallow them up, while on the surface the life-like tides would carry them away swiftly with their cold, groping hands. Over time, however, these young mischief-makers had grown tired of hearing the same old tales. From the windows of their inland huts, they saw for themselves the glowing beach in the distance, how glorious it truly was.

In their minds, the beach was a paradise made specifically for them. It was a place of mystery, where water stretched endlessly beyond the horizon, and where the water and land met was the sand that would sift into the fur between their toes. It was a world completely unknown to them, both above and below the surface. Likewise, the idea that a body of water could be so large enthralled their imaginations, to the point where they could no longer wait for the years of experience to accumulate. They no longer wished to heed the grim tales recounted to them. They had to go there for themselves.

"Garos, we can't do this. We're going to be caught for sure!"

The ringleader of the group, Garos, looked back at the timidest of their number; it was none other than Igrud herself. The young male scoffed at her fretting. She had been against the whole idea ever since he had concocted this plan. He wasn't about to let it stop him.

"Nah, they're all busy with grown-up stuff. We'll be back before they can find us."

His two lackeys, Freyza and Jivril, backed up his assertion.

"Yeah, there's no way we're getting caught. Garos' plans never fail!"

"That's right!"

Outnumbered three to one, Igrud fell silent and obediently followed their lead. While she was troubled by the possibility of getting caught, it wasn't her only concern. Of the four, she was the only one that still believed the tales spun by the old fishermen of the village. Monsters might really lurk in the water...

-

"Wow!"

Was the collective reaction at the sight that greeted their arrival on the beach.

The scene was bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun. On the surface of the swaying ocean, a dazzling parabola of fire stretched between the beach to the horizon. Igrud's eyes widened at the beautiful sight. It was worth risking her parent's scolding for this.

"Look how far it goes!"

"How far do you think you could swim in it?"

It truly was amazing, to be sure.

Without hesitation, Garos threw himself into the shallows at the beach edge. He beat a hasty, shivering retreat once the cold water soaked through his fur.

"Brrr, it's too cold!"

Freyza and Jivril had done likewise, having followed his ill-advised catapulting into the water. All three were completely drenched in ocean water. Igrud, however, opted to stand on the shore, away from their splash zone.

Garos grinned devilishly at her as he trudged back to the shore.

"You think you're getting away that easily? Come here, you're going to get dunked!"

Suddenly, Igrud was it. What was a failed attempt at swimming quickly transformed into a rousing game of tag, the loser of which, namely Igrud, would be thrown into the cold water. Luckily, her fur was completely dry, while they panted under the weight of their drenched coats. It ended after several brief minutes, in her victory.

They all collapsed on the sandy beach, their breaths ragged from their exertions. It was fun.

Igrud watched the sun fall below the ocean. It was the most beautiful thing the young tigerkin had ever seen. Maybe the tales weren't all true. The beach was beautiful, and the view of the sun overlooking the ocean was priceless. It was the best place ever!

As the sun sank into the depths of the ocean, a shadow appeared on the horizon.

-

Igrud's eyes focused on the minute object in the distance. It quickly enlarged as it approached the island, and within a few minutes, the object's shape was discernible. However, it disappeared from view once the sun's waning light faded entirely, and the horizon transitioned to its wardrobe of the night.

She wasn't sure what she had witnessed. It looked like one of the tall trees that grew in the village and along with the islands around their homeland, with blankets strung between them. What an odd thing to see. She paid it no heed, assuming it to be a natural occurrence on the mysterious ocean.

Garos gathered up his two lackeys under both arms, who were both fast asleep. He motioned for Igrud to follow him. It was time to go home.

She admired Garos. He was not only strong physically, but also strong-willed with a sense of adventure. He could carry both of his friends so easily under either arm, even though he was roughly the same age as her. In addition, he could nonchalantly shirk the rules without so much as single care in the world, as though his will was above the rules. It was times like this that she wished she could be more like him, rather than the timid, self-conscious worry-wart she was.

They returned to the village, Igrud to her home, while Garos split off to deposit his sleepy fellows at theirs, ultimately to leave for his own. They parted with a giggle at their dozy faces.

-

Igrud wound her way back home. About every week, the adults would gather in the village hall, where the business for the entire Eastern Archipelago would be conducted. Fishing boats that carried the village leaders from various neighboring villages brought them here, the central island.

The central island's village leader was related to Igrud's father by blood, but it was uncertain in what way, as the family records were missing up to a certain point. It was an inside joke among the islanders that claimed that her father was the leader's illegitimate child, considering how bull-headed both were at times during the meetings.

No one would be home now, Igrud thought. She should be able to make good her return, with no one the wiser on her daring infringement of the rules. She crept inside her family's hut. It was completely silent.

Her mother always accompanied her father on their trip to the center, which left the hut devoid of all occupation, as only Igrud, and her mother and father were the ones that lived there.

It was at the village center where her parents would report the weekly quota from their assigned fishing tasks. The produce they tallied was the staple diet of the Eastern tigerkin. They wouldn't be back for quite some time yet.

Though the tigerkin were once a race of red-meat carnivores in their continental homeland to the north, they migrated to the south due to internal strife among other clan members. Their travels led them to eventually settle in the tropical Archipelagos. Since wild game was scarce on the islands, it became necessary to supplement their diets with seafood. It didn't take long for them to acclimate to the profession, and it soon became integral to their culture.

Igrud clambered into her bed. It was time for her to be asleep. Staying awake too long would make her parents suspicious when they returned. Exhausted from her day of excitement, she soon drifted to sleep.

-

Igrud awakened to the sound of screams.

Groggily, she crawled out of bed. She peered out of the window in the side of the hut. It was still night, what was all the fuss? Did Garos get found out somehow?

No, it wasn't that. It was many more voices, high and low in pitch. Here and there, vulgarities exploded, raking her young ears with their sharpness.

She rushed outside to see what was the matter, as the window didn't afford her a view of where the commotion came from. What she saw when she stepped outside, was chaos.

The scorching heat of the flames that billowed from the immolated huts around her singed her fur. All around Igrud were bloody melees between those of her kin, and those of another race she did not know. Tigerkin fell left and right to long blades of steel. The few remaining males she saw desperately fought them barehanded or were armed with the filleting knives used in the butchery of fish.

The assailants' heads were covered in helms of iron, many of which had scraggly beards that hung from their chins between leather straps. They were of many diverse colors of bare skin, some black, others white, and many in between those extremes. However, there was a point of commonality that Igrud noticed among the killers, and it shook her to her very core.

What the elders had said was true. The ocean truly was a terrifying place. The monsters that lived in the sea had reared their hideous heads from their watery abode to feast upon the island; with them, they brought the cruel, oppressive chains of slavery. They were pirates.