The Demon Lord and his Hero

Syryn had a lot of time on his hands. He used it to think while the ship continued en route towards Coop Island. Waking up without any memories on a ship and then immediately being kidnapped by mermen had been a jarring experience. The days that followed had Syryn feeling insecure about his life and future. But after the events he'd endured in Silisia, the mage had found his confidence and was feeling more comfortable and secure in his skin.

During the day, he found an isolated area on the ship where he meditated and reacquainted himself with his powers. The sage helped the process along like a guide showing Syryn around a neighbourhood he used to live in and had all but forgotten its roads. Rowan sometimes watched but most of his time was spent reading.

"How many more days?" Syryn asked the anti mage.

"Three more days."

The crew met its first hostile pirate ship that day.

"Sir, pirates on the horizon. Do we engage them?" A slightly worried captain asked Rowan who was sunbathing with a book in his hand.

"Pirates? Allow them to come closer," Rowan replied as he turned a page of his book.

Syryn, who preferred to sit in the shade, peered at the title of the book that the blond was reading. It was a guide to growing common magical plants. He was intrigued to find out that the anti mage was a gardening fan.

The excited pirates approaching the ship were wondering why the crewmen on their targeted ship weren't showing signs of alarm. The captain of the pirate ship was a shrewd man. He had sailed the high seas for thirty-seven years and knew a troublesome ship when he saw one. The sight of a relaxed blond man on the deck, leisurely sunbathing and reading a book caught his eye.

Not worth the trouble, he decided.

Syryn saw the pirate ship that was headed towards them change course and sail in the same direction but leaving a good amount of distance between them. His violet eyes turned to the anti mage and grinned. He wanted to know just powerful the man was and had hoped that the pirates would attack them. Unfortunately, the pirates had been deterred by the blond without his lifting a finger.

"How boring," he loudly declared. Syryn leaned back in his chair, hands resting behind his head.

Blue eyes lazily glanced up. "Go for a swim."

"I'd rather not. The view is nice from over here," Syryn replied. His eyes were on Rowan the entire time, a small smile lifting the edges of his lips.

The ship's captain hurriedly left the deck when he realised that dog food was on the menu.

____

The same evening, Syryn's wish came true. Another pirate ship appeared. It was a smaller one built for speed and stealth. Its captain wasn't as astute as the captain of the first ship that had met them.

Syryn was sitting in the crow's nest with a lookout beside him when the pirate ship sailed right towards them. Rowan wasn't on deck but he was alerted by the navigator.

Syryn saw a blond head appear through a door. Rowan leaned against the railing of the deck on his arms. The wind was warm and salty. It ruffled his hair and clean white shirt.

The pirates were given no warning. An invisible force split the doomed ship right through its centre. An unlucky pirate standing in the course of Rowan's attack was split with the ship. Massive amounts of panic and confusion followed the screaming as the pirate ship began to sink. The captain stared in disbelief as he went down with his ship. He was jolted to action by another pirate who led the captain to their escape boat.

"Unlucky sons of bastards," Syryn heard his companion mutter.

He seconded that opinion. Rowan was a force to be reckoned with. How the hell had he defeated the man during their younger days of rivalry? Was he just as powerful as Rowan? He didn't think so. Syryn was okay with that as long as Rowan remained on good terms with him.

___

By the time they reached the shores of Coop, Rowan had sunk nine more pirate ships. The crew was coming across many pirate ships because they were now closer to Coop Island. After the second sinking, the crew cheered when they caught sight of a pirate ship. The men on deck would alert their mates who would leave whatever work they were doing just to get on the deck and watch Rowan sink another ship.

The pirates who were used to hostility and alertness from their targets were immensely confused by the sight of excited sailors cheering like a welcome party for the pirates.

After the fifth ship, the sailors grew bold and heckled at the next pirate ship they came across. To be heckled by unarmed sailors enraged the pirates. Then they sunk like a rock.

At meeting the tenth ship, Rowan got cheeky and stayed inside the cabin despite being alerted about an approaching pirate ship. As it got closer and closer, the sailors sweated because they were ill-prepared for defence. The men had been busy getting ready to spectate, not fight. Rowan's inaction caused a flurry of motion amongst the crew. And right before the fight began, Rowan stepped out and took care of business but not without enjoying the looks of misery that were upon the faces of his crewmen.

And that had been the last pirate ship to cross their path.

The midday sun was high up on an island whose shores were dotted with crowded houses that stood upon stilts where the water was shallow. Several pirate ships were anchored at the harbour that was built like it had been broken and fixed several times by builders with different ideas about how it should look like.

"We're finally here," the captain informed the blond. Their fearlessness had been replaced by caution and alertness. Rowan was a juggernaut but even numbers could overwhelm him. Or that's what the sailors thought.

Syryn spied a boat coming towards them. A lone oarsman steered the boat while another man stood on it and stared at Syryn as they headed towards the ship.

"Negotiate with him," Rowan informed the captain. "Tell the man we're buying a spot at the first gate."

There were three gates that ships could anchor at. The first gate was the best spot as it was closest to the harbour and it came with protection from the Queensmen's faction which controlled the harbour.