sink in the sand

disintegrate like a pill

forgotten at the bottom

sea no longer

red like rust

grainy because it is tiny rocks

rain waiting in the clouds

flood now there's water

sea side is still abandoned

water tinted red

idk i'm rly tired so i just threw this together 😅🥱

The captain of her ship The hot winds Blow against her hull In the hot of the day

It looked like smooth sailing Until we reached the waves The high rolling sand Brings the ship up and down

They brave the storm Time and time again Yet the storms never stop And neither does the ship

They roll over the golden seas As they watch the dust blow by They never stop sailing Until the world caves in

My name is Seraphine Wailark, first mate of the Imperator, and for the record, I never wanted to be here.

My crew and I are what we like to call “treasure hunters” and what other folk prefer to call “dirty, callous unethical pirates.” I don’t really see how us taking what is ours is unethical: Once it’s on a ship, it belongs to the sea, and what belongs to the sea belongs to those who have conquered it.

I served under the leadership of Captain Peregrine, a man who I once admired for his ambitions and fiery charisma. Perhaps that admiration is what made me blind to his reckless and stubborn behavior which trapped us all here.

If there was one thing Captain Peregrine loved more than his ship, and more than mulled wine, it was the thrill of treasure hunting. He sought it out like a hound, purchasing every nautical map that looked mildly interesting, getting sailors sloshed until they drunkenly told him stories of their travels, the rumors they’d heard from far-off ports. Though I wasn’t there, I’m assuming that’s where he first heard tell of the Golden Sea.

It was every buccaneer’s dream: a sea of liquid gold, waves cresting in the sunlight like mountains. I can’t say I blame Peregrine for his obsession with finding it. The problem was, no one belived it was real, much less knew where to find it. He ran around town talking with every sailor, merchant, or drunkard who seemed to know of it. Our coffers were nearly emptied when he suddenly took an interest in ancient texts and long-lost artifacts, holing up in his quarters for days at a time. I only walked in once, to inform him our armorer, Quincy, had left the crew for a blacksmithing job. Papers littered every inch of the floor and walls; some of them barely ledgible to me, others completely covered in pictures of golden tides. Peregrine barely noticed I was there, mumbling to himself as he paced around, reading a book and pointing excitedly to a map. It looked as if he hadn’t slept in days, with his hair tangled and unkempt, bags like coin pouches under his eyes.

That was the first time I considered the possibility he’d gone mad.

Nevertheless, I believed him. He was so certain he’d done it, that he alone had discovered this fabled treasure. I’ll admit, I shared in his enthusiasm. We cast off with the hopes of young children, blissfully ignorant of the humbling reality we were about to face. We fought through storms, sea beasts, anything that dared cross our path. Captain Peregrine only grew more impassioned the closer we grew, always looking out at the sea with desperate fervor. I remember one night, about a day’s journey away from our destination, he looked at me with tears in his eyes, smiling. “I’m going to be a god, Seraphine.” He told me. “Only a god could have this much wealth at his fingertips.”

When we finally arrived, all we saw was ocean. The air on the ship was tight with tension, everyone keeping their eyes trained for any glimmer of gold to be found in the blue abyss. Peregrine continued without hesitation, though he wasn’t looking at the water. He looked to the horizon, almost as if he expected a sign to appear. And, remarkably, it did.

As the sun glinted off the sparkling waters, the light became brighter, bigger. The more I looked, the greater it became, enveloping the whole ship until my eyes shut against the blinding glare. Though I’m not certain, I think I heard Peregrine laughing as the light swallowed us whole.

And, just like that, we’d arrived. The Imperator was nestled in a neverending golden sea, waves streching as far as the eye could see. The sun’s heat beat down on our faces, hotter than any summer day I’d seen. Peregrine didn’t spare us a second glance, leaping over the handrails of the ship and diving for the sea of treasure. But he never broke the surface. No, Peregrine fell face-first into his golden paradise, in a cloud of dust. He was shocked, of course; we all were. He kept pacing around, clambering up the peaks to see if there was anything he’d missed. He tore at his hair, nearly tossed a cannon overboard, all the while mumbling “I don’t understand, I don’t understand, I don’t understand, I don’t…” It was strange, since I understood perfectly.

It was sand. We were marooned in an ocean of sand.

It didn’t take long for the crew to turn on each other after that. There were arguments, fistfights, even death threats. Peregrine didn’t bother keeping the peace anyway. Some chose to leave and find a way home: I still don’t know what happened to them. The rest of us tried to survive, rationing off food and drink the best we could. I suppose it was only a matter of time before we resorted to other means of feeding ourselves. Everyone has to eat, after all.

Peregrine wasted away in his chambers for a while, never spoke to any of us. He refused food when I offered it to him, and instead stared out his window at the sea of gold he’d promised us, a blank expression on his face. When he saw the dagger in my hand, I could have sworn there was a brief moment of relief, a dismal satisfaction that he gained before his face twisted in pain. I gave him a quick death, of course: he deserved that much.

I must be leaving soon. This damn heat makes the stench so much worse, and it will be night in less than an hour. It’s cloudy today, which will make my journey much less laborous. I always like when the clouds come, turning this sickening gold into a pleasant red. Gold turned to copper, as it were. I’m leaving this account for anyone who finds this ship and is wondering how the hell it got here. I’m sorry I can’t give you more answers, but I’m sure Peregrine left some of his godsforsaken research around if your curiousity remains.

I’m going to find a way out of this golden sea. It’s certainly a better plan than staying here, waiting for death. After all, those stories had to have come from somewhere, or someone. I don’t know what will become of the Imperator and quite frankly, I don’t care. Burn it to ash if you feel so inclined.

Sincerely, Seraphine Wailark Former first mate of the Imperator

The treasure was ours.

Resting in the middle of the sea, exposed by the humming seals and resonating with the impossibly large emblem directly below us, exposing the grandiose entrance. The waves began to part, and our journey was finally about to be rewarded.

The map completely failed, however, to warn us about the treasure’s keeper.

A glowing humanoid figure bursts out from the waves, rumbling at us in a burning tone, demanding to know who we are. What we were doing there? Have they come for the treasure?

Struck by shock and fear, we foolishly reply in the affirmative, nodding up and down like a child asking for christmas presents.

The keeper did not like this answer.

The waves around us grow more turbulent, thrasing against the helm as the ship begins to lift into the air, carried by the ruthless waves as they surge against the floor of the ship.

But as we were lifted into the sky, the water begins to turn to sand.

The entity wasn’t going to drown us. It was going to crush us.

We crashed into the ground, the ship somehow still upright.

When we finally came to, the sea was gone.

The treasure seal was no longer visible, the waves now dunes of the desert.

With the ship slowly deteriorating by the day, we desperately scour the tattered maps. They got us into this mess.

They have to get us back out of it.

A desert sea That’s where we were

The boat On the sand The wind In the sails

The clouds were dark The land was red Our boat was stuck

“Heh? Jack Sparrows ship,” Winter questions.

”Does this look like the black pearl to you,” Katherine asks, as her dragon screeches in agreement.

”Well I'm sorry! It's not everyday that your friend saves you from drowning. Oh and the fact, THAT YOUR DRAGON WAS HIT BY A FLYING SHIP,” Winter yells.

”Your welcome,” Katherine smiles.

— earlier —

”AHHHHHHH WHAT THE HECK,” Winter screams. One second she was drowning and the other she's dangling far above the sea.

”HEYYYYY GURLYYYY,” Katherine yells looking down.

”KATHERINE?! HOW DID YOU FIND ME!”

”PFFFFF I DONT KNOW,” Katherine laughs.

”OH SHIT IS THAT A-,” Winter starts.

”Ship?” Katherine questions.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

—— —— ——

Part 2 of No More Second Chances

As Thailakain came back up to the deck of the ship, he looked around at his surroundings and saw; land. What happened, thought Thailakain. As the other crew members came up from the ship’s hold, they were all surprised by the new view in front them. Soon chatter was spreading throughout the crew and some people were getting worked up about it and others were panicking. He saw the captain get on the quarterdeck and look at the view. “Calm down savvy’s!! Yes, this is land and a place of unknown but we will survive! I need some people to scout the area, see what the terrain is like.” A few people raised their hands and were sent off. “We also need to have some people to check any damage done to the ship and fix it. All others start cleaning, aye?!” “AYE!!” Shouted the crew. The next hours were full of cleaning and preparing for the worst. They all knew that they would have to travel through this land to get away from this heat. People were preparing bags and the crew members that had gotten off the ship to fix the damage realized that it was pointless because they could not move this ship.

Thailakain prepared himself a bag quickly full of water, food, clothes, and a sword by his waist. He didn’t know would happen. What had happened to get them in this place but he suspected something abnormal had happened; like teleportation. If not that then he didn’t know. The scouts didn’t come back that day worriedly and the captain sent others to see where they were and those one didn’t come back. Thailakain was then sent. He didnt’t object because it wouldn’t do anything. He got off the ship by a ladder and started walking north. He climbed many hills and saw no signs of the lost crew members. After a while he climbed over a big hill that hid the view of the rest of this land and saw a magnificient view. He saw a massive land full of trees and a lake in the middle. There were somesort of shelters that surrounded the lake. He saw people walking and talking to each other or doing something else. Thailakain walked down and approached a person. "Aye, you!" said Thailakain. The person approached him, with a confused look on his face. "I need information. Where are we? What is this place?!" The person didn't seem to understand, and started to move his hand toward his spear, and Thailakain put out his hands trying to show he meant no harm. The person took this as a threat and stabbed at him, Thailakain tried to dodge but the spear got his right shoulder. It pierced through and he back up. He took out his sword and fought him.

Thailakain walked towards the ship slowly. He had been stabbed in the shoulder, and his left leg. As he approached, some of his crew mates took him up the ladder and sat him up against the mast. The captain approached him and he told him what had happened and what was there. He told him that they would probably have found the body by now and would be coming for them. The captain emmediately started shouting orders to the crew. The ship bustled with energy and they prepared the cannons and sharpened their swords. Thailakain was carried to the hull and taken care of briefly. Thailakain listened to the footsteps and shouts that came from the deck until he passed out from the pain.

When Thailakain woke up, he took it as a good sign. he didn't hear much noises from the deck, so he was a little worried. He stood up and put his body's pressure on his right leg. He limped his way to the stairs and slowly climbed. He reached the top and looked around. He saw his captain and others walking around trying to clean to deck. Thailakain emmediately took the rest of the steps and saw the damage. there were bodies covering the floor; thankfully there were less crew members than the enemy. "What happened?" asked Thailakain. "We fought! That's what happened!! And we won too!!" said the captain. "How many of us died?" "Too many, I say. There are only 23 of us left including you." "What are we gonna do?" "Well, we plunder their land ofcourse!!" They prepared and Thailakain led them to the land. They reached it in about an hour and they took the land for themselves. They lived there till death came upon them, on one unfortunate day, when a sandstorm came.

Sand everywhere… this is the sea I love. No cold water soaking you, or a cold breeze blowing in your face. Just smooth warm sand for the ship to slide through. “Captain! We’ve spotted them!” I turned around and walked up to my first mate Cairy, my buckled boots clicking with each step. She handed me the eye glass and I honed in on the trespassers, their ships flag the color of blood. A growl rose up in my throat, “Blasted cockroaches!” Turning away from them, I stood at the helm and called out to my female crew waiting on deck. “Ladies! Geran has come for us at last. How about we show him who’s in charge of these sands?” A choir of voices rose up in a cheer as one voice, my crew hungry for battle. “Man your stations! Raise the anchor! Down the sails! Lets show them who we are!” I barked. Immediately, the woman began acting out my orders like a well oiled machine. Years of riding the sands in their blood made their work efficient and effortless. I felt the pull of the boat beginning to move as the wind caught its sails and we began moving towards our foes…

Red sand dunes spread out as far as the eye could see. Burnt orange and faded red, colored by both mother nature and the blood spilled over years of treacherous crossings.

The winds shifted and granules blew over each other, hiding the relics of carnage. The mast creaked as the sail pulled along the dusty sea.

“Starboard bow!”

The call came from above where Amber stood in the crow’s nest, aviator goggles over her eyes for protection, tangled dark brown hair blown out behind her.

Laris was tempted to rush the side of the ship for viewing but instincts told her the sound beneath the boat’s hull was the weaving swim of the very beasts she was looking to avoid. The gentle hiss of sand over scales - quiet. Unnerving.

She’d somehow lived to make this trip more than once but the fact the beasts still roamed in the numbers they did showed just how many had braved the landscape only to end up its dinner.

“Counting two sighted, Captain!” Amber shouted from above.

Sienna sands slapped Laris across the head, disorienting her for a bare moment as a roar that rose into a shriek split the air. She lifted her arm to block more sand and turned to see the writhing creature rise from the crystalline sea just as a boom echoed in the distance and she was thrown to the ground. Wood splintered below and the ship shook from the impact.

Was someone seriously firing on her or did they honestly have the audacity to go after the draconic beast with her and her crew between them and their query?

We are unable to move forward. We are stuck, we suffocate. The world is too heavy. The air is too light.

We are unable to sail in the sand. Yet we keep trying. We breathe. But we’re not getting anywhere.

We are unable to live. We are unable to die. We are swimming in the sand. But we drown in the desert.