Stormbreather: Monsters & Man, #1

By Arthur King

Freedom fighter or pirate?

He cared if no one else did.

The slave rebellion, his peoples rebellion, had been crushed under the joint boots of the Ostian navy and the Carthian shield wall. Now "captain" Talon, once "general" Talon seeks a new homeland, for his people, at the end of the world.

Instead of a paradise free of oppression, he finds instead, far stranger things call this part of the world home, and they don't feel like sharing it. He will have to risk it all and fight hard on the land and sea to buy his people peace with blood. Theirs, not his, theirs.
Jasonne: Kept a prisioner by the cartians her entire life, used as a weapon, a ship destoryer, she believes she is the last storm breather, a monster. Yet she yearns to be free and try escape the rage of the storm.

Enrik: The sealord, the king of tuskani, captain of the dragon fleet. He has carved his name in blood and pain. Enrik learns he is not the only breather, a fact he cannot abide.

Storm breather is a tale of captains, kings, humans with gods like powers, they come crashing together, as allies and enemies, some seeking peace, some conquest, some just a free place to call home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: julius schenk
• Release date: Nov 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386179313

Book preview

Birth

Her first memory was a storm or being left out in one. She could still picture it boiling in the sky above her, a dark grey creature of swirling rage. She had been taken roughly by the hand and dragged from the lonely metal cage that was her home. The guard was young and dressed as they were all dressed, thick leather armor like a tunic with a flared bottom, bare arms and legs, bronze helmet and spear always at their sides. The metal cage, her home, just a box of bars that let the wind and rain in, her bed, a few handfuls of slowly rotting straw.

She was dragged like a dog from the cage, to the top of a stony cliff, that looked out from the island. There was a large metal loop hammered into one of the black rocks that jutted up from the dead grass. The guard took the thick metal chain, roughly hammered to the cuffs around her feet, and carefully lashed her to the rock. He didn't smile or laugh, he just stood impassive and still.

‘You’ll learn to love it,’ he said and turned, leaving her alone.

He went to stand with two other guards nearby, bows ready with arrows, not aiming at her but ready, arrows notched to the string.

The child with no name stood looking out to the sea below the cliffs and felt the wind picking up. Soon the rain was pouring down from the angry sky and drenching through her thin, once white tunic. The cold rain chilled her skin, she shivered, bumps raising on her pale skin. She started crying and crying, the tears lost in the rain that flowed down her cheeks.

Why would they do this to her? She wasn’t one of them, she didn't have the powers the others had, she’d die out here like her brother. If she didn’t die tonight, she would in a few days from the sickness. Bad food and wicked cold, she would just fade away in a sick bed of coughing fits, or taken over by the rage, she'd lose her mind. Her own brother had been taken by the rage and smashed his own body on those rocks. She looked down at the stony shore below, white tipped waves crashing on them, half expecting to see his broken body down below. That was months ago now and he'd been washed away by the pounding waves, food for the sea.

The wind blew past her face and near knock her down. Her pale blue eyes glared up in anger at the sky and she screamed, cursing it. She was amazed when she felt her own anger reflected back. The storm wasn’t some passive force of nature as she’d always thought, but a violent outburst. She felt the wind, the rain and cold and felt the malice in it. It was like a living creature that wanted to destroy all it could. She didn’t know why but she laughed, she wiped the tears away and embraced the cold. Chill my skin, kill me, she thought, better than being a slave here. She opened her mouth and screamed at the sky.

She screamed and swore at it. Bringing all her rage at the life she lived, a prisoner in a tiny cage, family prisoners as well. Just tools to be used. It was all she had ever known.

She knew what they wanted her to do, she knew what they wanted her to be. She’d never felt that it could be true, she never felt the 'pull' as her grandfather called it, but there was no harm in trying. She breathed out slowly and looking out to the storm took a long and steady breath in. The cold air filled her lungs and she breathed it out hard, coughing. Nothing but cold air. It wouldn’t work. Then she thought of the anger, the rage. She breathed in hard but focused on breathing in the emotion not the wind. She felt it starting to come. She breathed in more and more, taking the soul of the storm, its angry heart. Her tiny body felt full and powerful, she felt the cold of her skin like a shield of protection and the lightning cracks in the sky like her own young wrath. The girl screamed out with force and the wind ripped from her lungs like the frozen breath of a dragon.

She dragged it in again and screamed again and again. The wind ripped from her every time and competed with the very storm. She smiled to herself. It was true, she could be strong and powerful, she need not be afraid anymore. Looking at the storm, she knew she could beat it. She breathed out hard and long, emptying her lungs.  Then, taking a slow breath in, focused on pulling it all inside. All the angry rage of the dark clouds and rain. The wind died, and the sky grew clear and still. Her lungs were busting with the power and she couldn’t hold it. She felt the rage inside of her, it was like the storm was the wild animal and her body the prison. It thrashed against her, trying to fight free. Her skin was ice cold and it felt good. She opened her mouth to release the rage and wind, but the guard was back. He grinned at her now and placed the drawn blade of his short sword against her throat. She felt the cold of the blade and the pinch of her skin as he pressed it against her neck.

'Keep it in,' he said.

She wanted to let it go but knew they would kill her if she failed them. She looked past him and saw the other two arrows now pointed at her, waiting. In his hand the guard held a rough metal mask. It was thick and heavy, carved with runes and a big loop of metal at the top. Closed at the back almost like a helmet. It had a small hatch that would cover her mouth. She screamed and kicked as the man forced the metal mask onto her head and locked it in place. The cold metal closed around her face and head. Only allowing her to see from two small slits, her world shrank to that mask.

Now the mask was on her, she could feel the power of it. It was her trap to keep the power in until they needed it, but worse it seemed to strengthen the power, the storm knew it was trapped and fought against her mind and body to be free.

The storm was too strong, its rage took her mind and changed her. If she could see herself, she would have seen her very eyes darken to the deepest brown and her skin start to grow hard and cold like ice. She threw herself at the guard. She clawed at him like an animal, but he just stood back away from her reach. She fought against the chain, unable to reach him. She eyed him though the slits in the mask and tried to scream, the words came out but no wind, it was locked inside her. He just grinned again.

'You'll be our best weapon yet.'

The Drunken Maiden

Talon looked across the scuffed wooden deck of his ship and saw the island ahead, looming out of the fog like a rocky knife, and smiled to himself. It was a foreboding place, the sea was sundrenched and clear, but the island had a dark grey mist that hung around it like a cloak of bad intention. its jagged cliffs the only thing showing through the grey veil.

‘Why do you smile Captain?’ his mate, Jinn, called out.

Talon, taking the great wooden wheel in both of his hands, swung it hard to guide them closer to the island. His light and nimble ship, The Drunken Maiden, cutting like a knife though the small waves towards it.

‘We’re going to escape!’ the Captain shouted back to his mate. He turned back to look over his water drenched shoulder at the two large ships following them closely behind, too closely. They were much bigger, held more sail, had more guns and were gaining fast. They smashed through big waves that would cause his own vessel to shudder. The Ostian navy, just what he didn’t need right now. They were too far away from home, which meant they must have been out looking for him, the bounty on his crew and own head had clearly gone up. That wasn’t good. It meant some of his men were running their mouths again. They were wanted for the crimes they bragged about more than the ones they actually committed. The Ostians hated the idea of them just as much as the amount they cost them, in stolen goods and burned ships, it was more the idea of them, they gave hope to other slaves and that was very dangerous.

He looked at the large red flags that fluttered behind the ships, a silver crown on a red field and turned his attention back to the island.

‘Looks fine,’ he said, knowing it didn't.

The course they’d plotted would bring them as close as they dared to those sheer cliffs. The plan wasn’t to land on the small island but sail past its rocky face and carry on. The Maiden was much higher in the water and the other ships may beach if they came too close, they also might just be too scared to get so close. He was hoping for some assistance, the island, storm island, was said to be cursed.

‘There you go,’ jinn said and pointed his finger above the island. The grey veil of fog had been broken by a bolt of fork lighting and the huge crack of thunder that came with it, the sound rang across the deck.  A few of his men shuddered in fear.

He laughed aloud and played up to it, being a captain was half skill at the helm and half showmanship, he'd always been told. ‘They are welcoming us boys and we’d prefer a few thunderbolts and waves to sitting between those two big bastards and their guns!’

He yelled for the mate to raise more sail and the men scurried up the ropes to do just that. The wind behind them was still strong and they ran fast and hard. He looked back again and saw he had only a little time before he was in the range of the lead ship's twin front cannons. The Ostians had very good guns, very good ships and very good everything, their country was rich in many metals and they took great pride in their ways of war. They had fitted their pirate hunter vessels with twin front and rear cannons, they had a narrow range of fire, but a few good shots would sink a ship like his.

Talon looked up as he felt the first raindrop on his face, it landed on his cheek and slowly ran down like a teardrop. Finally, he thought. The sky above the island was turning fierce and black, he could see from the fog a huge storm cloud was brewing above it like a threat, clouds boiling and lightning clashing inside it.

‘Someone's home,’ he yelled, and steered the ship closer to the cliff. It was a risky move but one he had to make. There was no way his little 12 cannon ship could face these monsters. It was built for speed and most of the hold was free for goods and men. She was built for boarding merchants and sneaking away, not outright battle. He was good at his craft and would try his luck against one of these big bastards, but not two, they’d rake his little ship to pieces before he made a dent in their thick hulls.

The Maiden cut through the sea as the storm above the island stopped as suddenly as it had begun. It was a frightening sight if not expected. Rolling storm clouds one moment and blue sky the next. He knew what was coming That was just the warning. They were getting closer to the main inlet. A small gap in the two huge cliff faces, it was a natural fortress built by the pounding winds. He looked and thought he saw people standing on top of the cliff near the entrance. Talon turned suddenly, hearing the sound of cannon fire, the whistle of the shot and the smashing result as it ripped into his cabin below. The sound of splintering wood and glass, his bloody room.  He swore in anger. They had reached him, He looked back again and saw they were still a good distance away. Fuck those guns.

Above them a new storm ripped the sky and the wind came directly down at his ship. The waves ripped from the ocean and over the sides of his small craft, soaking the men to the bone.

‘Brace you bastards, grab something and hold the course,’ he yelled

The rain came down at them from the cliff tops like a sheet and drenched the deck. He heard the terrible wailing of the wind and the awful creak of his main mast. The solid beam took the punishment of the wind and bent slightly. His Maiden flew through the water, much too fast and smashed headlong in the waves ahead, bouncing like a cork.

He heard a cry and saw a man going over, it was Rex. Talon ran to the side of the ship as the big bastard clung to the rail. His strong black hands holding on to the sea-soaked beam. Talon grabbed his hand and let him pull himself back over, grabbing onto him like a child. Rex was a big man and almost seemed embarrassed as he thanked Talon and went back to his post.

Talon returned to the wheel. That was too close. If he lost Rex, who would row his long boat?

‘Bloody hold on,' he yelled to everyone. Behind him the canons fired again and missed them by a scarce meter. He ran to the helm and swung the wheel even closer to the cliffs. They were so close now, he could have thrown a stone and hit them. The hard rock wall whistled past and he hoped his bloody maps were right and these waters were indeed deep. It was a very dangerous game to sail without depth-checks, just his faith that they were going to make it. He looked back again and saw the lead Ostian ship too was ok, it had followed their path near the cliff, but they had deep waters near these cliff and it wasn’t hitting bottom.

The captain yelled to his gunner at the stern, they had one small chaser gun and he ran to the crew manning it. It was a small cannon mounted in the back railing, that only took three men to man. Ships like his normally wouldn't have one, but his gunner master, Adisa, liked to plunder things from other ships and find a way to mutilate his ship and fit them on.

‘Ok boys let's try something, I want you to fire a few shots into that cliff, start a rockslide.’

Adisa look stunned but just told his men to do it. They wouldn’t hit the Ostian vessel at that range, but they could try and make the path a bit more dangerous for them. Adisa took hold of the muzzle and aimed the canon back at the cliff wall, as the others loaded it with shot, plugged it down and pulled the fuse cord. The small cannonball leaped for the gun, the canon shooting back, but held steady by the men on the ropes. The shot flew from the gun and smashed into the cliff face a few meters back.  They were greeted with a shower of rocks, most small but some larger chunks as well. The stones toppled into the water well ahead of the Ostian ship, with a large splash, sinking too deep below. They held their breath as the ship passed over where the rocks had sunk into the water and cruised on by. The Ostian fired its chasers again. Right across the bow, just missing them. Talon felt the wind rush past his face and tasted gunpowder in the air.

‘Once more boys, higher this time,' he yelled

One of his men pushed a large wooden wedge under the tip of the gun as they all pulled it up to elevate it. They fired again, within moments, another huge rock pile slid from the cliff and into the water.

He looked back to hear the cheer of his ratty men. They stood drenched in the rain, cold and scared but laughing, as the first huge Ostian navy ship hit the cliffs. The big beast of wood and sail met the stone cliffs hard. It was too low in the water, had hit a rock at the bottom and slammed sideways into the vast cliff wall. He heard the shriek of wood on stone as it continued on, dragging a huge rip through the fine wooden hull. The ship was going down fast to screams that could barely be heard over the waves. He looked away, he didn't need to see more. The job was done. The storm seemed to lessen, and the Maiden pushed further and further on. He grabbed the wheel and pulled her away from the rocks. He’d played it loose enough.

The Captain of the other ship had been smarter. His vessel stayed clear of the cliffs and was still coming for them, penning them in. If it got alongside them, they would be done. It would be a broadside of twelve large gauge guns against the six of his own stern side volley.

‘What do we do?’ Jinn asked.

‘Make for the inlet,’ Talon cried. He'd wanted to have a look at this island, not go running inside, but he only had a few moments before the bigger vessel would be on him. Spinning the wheel, he guided the Maiden in past the cliff face with just moments to spare. The inlet to the inner part of the island was small but still big enough for three or four ships. That is, if the weather was fine and you weren't going too fast, which it wasn't and he was. The Maiden rocked on the waves and came so close to hitting the other side, he turned his head away, but she sneaked past the rocks and into the becalmed bay. The other Ostian ship was much too big and Captained by someone less crazy, so it stayed outside the inlet.

A cheer went up on the deck of the ship as it tacted, retreated across the waves, blocking their exit.  As the Captain looked up at the sky, the black storm above, once again, much too suddenly, stopped.

‘They are smarter than us,’ Jinn said, looking back at the Ostian ship that slowly circled near the entrance of the inlet, not venturing in.

‘Clearly,’ Talon said, as he watched the small army of people start to run from the jungle and assemble on the beach before them.

Dark Friend

Days and weeks and years they kept her locked in that cage. She assumed it was years, all she really had to guide her was the changes in the moon, that shone above her nightly. She often spoke to herself or rather to her dark friend as she thought of the storm as. He wasn't really her friend he only wanted to destroy and hurt people, but at least she finally realized, it didn't want to hurt her. That was the storm's gift and its seduction, it wanted to hurt everyone who hurt her. They knew it too. Whenever they needed her to sink a ship or drown someone they just hurt her enough until the storm came out of her. Clawing up from her pain to protect her. Sometimes, when she'd taken a large storm, they needed not try very hard. It was present all the time and whenever she was consumed with rage, she tried to attack the guards, to no avail. She spoke with her friend of what they would do when they got their hands on those Carthian fucks. Other times, it was weak, she was weak, and they had to whip her bloody until it came out.

She knew there were times when it took her over. When it emerged and claimed her, she felt her skin grow cold. Her eyes, she had been told, changed from their normal pale to a dark brown, so dark you could barely see her inner eye, the storm in her mind. Those times, the hours and days passed, and she knew not what she had done, but she knew her dark friend had done something horrible, so she wouldn't have to.

'Ready now you damn banshee? We have a ship getting too close and it's time for you to work,' the guard said. She was taken with four guards now, they didn't trust her anymore. She always tried to escape or fight them.

One reached out with the short iron key and unlocked her cage. Two more came in while the other stood outside with swords drawn and pointed at her. One, a tall man with a scarred lip (where her black mask had met his pretty face) took her chain and dragged her out of the cage. She didn't need to be pushed. She had taken a massive storm two months ago and it felt like a stone of ice inside her. She wanted the release as much as they wanted her to protect their stupid island.

She was led to the mountaintop and chained to her rock. The guards stood beside her. One pointed.

'See that? Sink it,' he said

She looked through the fog of her rage, her vision clouded and dark, and saw the ship. It was low and flat, a long wooden vessel that held the Ostian flag. A big slave ship for sure. She could almost smell the stink of it on the breeze. It was drawing closer and closer, clearly planning to stop for water. She knew there were people inside. Caged and rotting people like her, but people with a chance. Going somewhere, able to walk free on land. She hated them. She saw the white dots of sailors aboard, Ostian slave merchants, rich arseholes, eating when they wanted, sleeping when they wanted, walking free in the sunshine. They had a treaty with the Ostians, she'd heard, but they weren't to know about this place.

One of the guards reached out and slowly undid the trap covering her mouth, He jumped back as if from a fire. He need not have bothered, she was focused on the ship, her dark vision gazed upon it and she felt the anger. Once the hatch was opened from her mouth she felt the lock on her breath break, she felt the power in her wanting to get free. She looked at the ship below as it came closer to the island, its tall sails and fine wooden hull and she screamed all her fury at it.

She crouched down low and let it out. The wind and rage came ripping from her lungs and out of her mouth, it chilled her lips and felt good. The wind, like a beast with a life of its own, leaped from her and flew across the distance to the ship. A vast grey swirling cloud of wind and rain. It hit the sails, side on and hard, causing it to rock over violently. She kept screaming and the wind kept beating the ship down in a relentless blast that didn't stop, but only grew stronger and stronger. In only moments the vessel started to lean further and further. Soon, the big white sails were touching the waves. The cold black sea flooded in from the tipped side and it started to go down. The sky around them had turned dark with the released storm, and she heard the bolts of lightning cracking her wrath.

As she looked, the ship started to sink faster and faster. It was sideways now and facing away from them, but it went down as if the sea itself we're pulling it with hungry hands. Now that the storm had lessened in her, Jasonne looked with different eyes. She saw not enemies but a vessel full of lost souls she'd just condemned to a watery grave. She sank to her knees and started crying and crying through the mask, her hand coming to her face but only touching the thick metal. Behind her, one of the guards pulled on the chain and dragged her to her feet. She looked at him and he looked back, seeing the change in her.

'Oww you all sad now, well you're not done, so harden up,' he said and pointed down.

She followed his finger and looked toward the ship. It was almost gone beneath the waves, just a massive outline of wood and sail, but she saw a few white dots of sailors and some of the slaves fighting their way up to the surface. So, few from so many, but they swam hard for life.

'Come on, they can't reach the shore,' he yelled

She was dragged by Scar-lip and the three others