Caela and the Cursed Rituals

I had always been fascinated by the ocean. My village was surrounded by sloping hills and a beautiful white sand beach, but it was the ocean that kept me here. There was something about it that soothed my soul. Most days I would be seen on the beach, staring out towards the horizon and waiting for a ship to appear. Our village was small, but as I watched the waves roll in, I could imagine a world beyond this one filled with strange creatures, dangerous storms and unknown lands. Would I ever see them?

My father had been a fisherman all his life and he taught me everything he knew about the sea. He even made me an amazing fishing rod when I was a child out of driftwood and rope that I still have to this day. Whenever he had time away from fishing he would work on it, sanding down knots in the wood and adding pieces whenever he found something that looked like it could belong there. Every time I used it (which wasn't often) it reminded me of him. Even though my mother could be harsh at times, at least she never said anything about it when I took it with me to the beach. The rare occasions that we saw a ship out past our bay were exciting for everyone in the village, but for me they were magical. It felt like some great adventure was just about to begin, but then nothing ever happened afterward... only more waiting for ships that never came.

* * *

When I turned sixteen my father started taking me out fishing with him whenever he went out into deeper waters where the fish were bigger. My mother was against it of course, but she didn't have much say since my father was head of the family now that grandfather was gone. We would go out in his canoe and spend entire days together on the open water without seeing another soul except for sharks or whales off in the distance. Sometimes we would see other canoes too - usually far off in the distance - but nobody ever spoke to us as we passed by each other on the water. My father said that these were other fishermen from different villages who also fished beyond our bay, but every time I asked him if we'd ever visit any of these villages he would just shake his head and smile at me before looking back out toward the horizon again.

* * *

The night after my sixteenth birthday is when everything changed forever. It seemed like any other night at first - my father left early in the morning to go fishing again while my mother began preparing dinner for when he returned - but late at night she sent me to bed early instead of staying up with her like usual to help her prepare breakfast in the morning. She told me it was a special day tomorrow and wanted me to be well rested so she could give me my gift early... which didn't make any sense because birthdays are on the day not early or late! In the middle of the night, I awoke to the sounds of chaos and the realization that changed everything: my parents were dead!

* * *

Everything happened so fast; I remember hearing screams outside followed by loud bangs on our door as someone tried several times to break through but ultimately failed. I hid under my covers, hoping whoever it was would leave us alone if they thought nobody else was home. Then, someone kicked down our door, sending splinters flying everywhere across the floor and scattering across my bed. A man wearing a mask stood there laughing loudly until he spotted me hiding under my covers. He walked over slowly, picked up a chunk of splinter off my quilt, and scraped it across his arm, creating a long gash. Licking blood from his wound, he stared at me with a wicked smile. Panicked, I screamed as loud as I could and ran out of our house into the cold night outside, where another masked figure grabbed hold of me and made terrifying noises in my ear. However, both men fell silent as they noticed something behind them.

* * *

Two more men walked calmly behind the attackers, holding their guns pointed at whatever had caught the attention of the intruders. These newcomers were dressed in black and carried what looked like ancient swords, aimed directly at the assailants. Each had striking green eyes and wore rusted masks from old myths: one an empty skull mask, the other an ape's face that left only its glowing red eyes exposed. The two figures removed their masks, revealing pale white skin beneath, before swinging their swords with incredible speed, slaying the attackers in front of me. They stared intensely at each other and communicated through guttural animal sounds, as if they had learned everything they needed to know about saving me - Caela - without the need for words or anyone else's help. And they knew that now was the time to act, to save what remained of my family from the imminent danger that threatened us all.