The dawn bled gold across the sky, the cloud-clipper sailed high above an ocean of mist, Sunfire glinting off its phoenix-wood and living tree sails. The crew had assembled on the upper deck—elites, officers, and new allies alike, the salt wind buzzing with anticipation and steel-eyed readiness. I stepped forward to the center of the deck, flanked by Felicity, still half-slick with blood glamor and grace, and Faeluxe, arms crossed, ever-pure ribbon fluttering like a whisper of defiance.
Snake Man and Hammerhead stood with quiet attention, slightly stiff—seeds pulsing inside them. My raptor feathers shifted in the upper wind. I removed the barnacle-eye Compass from my belt, letting its glass face spin once—glow once—before I spoke. "Our course is set. We're not just chasing treasure anymore." There was a hush. "We're sailing into war." Crewmembers murmured. Even the storm-hardened pirates leaned closer, sensing something sharp behind my words.
"Ahead of us lies the Beast Vein Continent.
My home continent. The ''untamed Continent'' bleeds with power, Genome Beasts prowl the lands as numerous as they are lethal and ancient. The Beast Vein Continent , is vast and largely uncharted, the land is prone to elemental chi storms, and eco systems with roots thick as rivers. But someone's trying to erase all of that. Someone called—Red Cap."
I flipped the compass close my voice hardening. "He's slaughtering tribes. Harvesting cores. Burning the earth clean, and I'm not having it." The air shifted. A few of the old pirate hands blink. One mutters: "Red Cap? Thought he was a child's tale..." Snake Man tilted his head. I raised my hand, voice steady: "This isn't just some crusade.
This is a chance. A chance to bloody the nose of a sovereign. I want to punch Red-Cap in the face and take everything he thinks is his."
I stepped forward, fire in my eyes now. "We're not tourists here, we are Pirates and Cultivators who've braved phantom castles and inheritance mazes." "We're not running. We're leading." The crew erupted in a roar, stomping boots, fists raised. Faeluxe flashes a sharp smile, ribbon glowing like a warning sigil. Felicity just licked her teeth, already feeling the pulse of a future hunt. Even Hammer head cracked out a grin, head twitching with bloodlust. "Been a while since I cracked a Sovereign's skull…" I nodded once, voice final: "This is not just about survival. This is conquest. Let's remind the world what happens when it dares to tread on beasts it doesn't understand."
The Star bite crested another high cloud—gliding fast, ready. And ahead, the Beast Vein Continent awaited. The sun hanged low, gold pouring through the sky like honey. The Star bite sailed atop the wind, coasting steady along the cloud paths, its gilded hull gleaming in the shifting light. The rush of spirit-charged air hummed through the mast lines like a dragon purring in its sleep.
Below the top deck, in the private ready chamber near the captain's quarters, I turned toward Faeluxe. Felicity leaned lazily beside me, half-lidded eyes watching the pixie blade master with playful curiosity. I cleared my throat. "Faeluxe, would you be a lamb and take us on a tour of your ship?" Faeluxe quirked an eyebrow, ever-pure ribbon fluttering with a wind that's not entirely physical. She gave a smug little spin, arms out.
"Of course, mi 'lord. Try not to fall in love with her too hard."
She gestured to us, and the three of us set off, our footfalls echoing across sun-burnished wood and spirit
steel rails. Faeluxe walked us first to the portside where one of the great living tree sails channeled the elemental wind essence. A pale miniature wind dragon flickered out of the tree branches, "His name is Wisp" Faeluxe said. She whistled and the little pale wind dragon rushed down to greet her by swirling around her outstretched arm down and around her torso then up face to face again.
It was a nimble display. "UWU he's so cute!" Felicity cried as she clasped her hands together up by her face in a girly manner and balanced on one foot. Wisp quickly hid behind Faeluxe peaking over her shoulder at Felicity. "I found him in the endless isles, abandoned. So, I took him with me. And good thing too, Wisp has a legendary passive ability. Being a wind dragon, he can exert his influence on jet streams, that's why it's not windy right now and we are able to walk about on top deck safely."
Wisp swirled around us once, then twice and went gliding back up to the glowing tree sail, charging the tree sail with its dragon wind essence. Faeluxe continued to walk us along the bow "Phoenix-wood sails grafted to float glyphs," Faeluxe explained. "It can ride updrafts, dodge thunderbolts, or flip upside-down mid-flight if I want."
Felicity squinted. "What's that glowing thread through the hull?" Faeluxe raised a brow "Ah. Spirit root veins from a cloud elm. Enhances navigation and grows stronger the higher we fly. It's alive." I ran my hand along the warm timber. I could feel the ships subtle pulse. Faeluxe was right, this was not just a ship. This was a living ship of the sky. "This way, I'll show you my focus room next" Said Faeluxe motioning. Beneath the top deck in a side-wing chamber was a lotus blossom room worked from pure Phoenix wood. There were racks of floating shields, spears, and artifact blades hovered midair in different ''petals'' or sub-rooms. Each blade was suspended between chi glyphs and wind essence softly, like a spider mid-air in her web. "This is my Armory of Focus," Faeluxe whispers reverently. "Every weapon here has drunk blood and tasted victory."
I paused at a broken sword hilt bound in silver thread. "And this one?"
"My first duel. I keep it to remind myself not to get cocky." Felicity touched a rapier made of blood crystal and frost; her touch left a smear of blood that vanished into the blade. Felicity eye'd the blade, "I'm Sure you don't mind if I borrow this." Faeluxe smiled, "Of course not my Lady by all means. What you hold in your hand is the frost vein rapier, or "The whispering thorn rapier" It was once wielded by a cryo-mancer Princess who tried to reject her vampiric bloodline. The blade turned on her, freezing her heart mid-pulse and sealing her soul within its hilt." Felicity held the hilt near her ear and listened for a moment, "Please share your whispers with me." Felicity said.
A thunderbolt shot through me, "Uh-hey felicity c'mon you sure you wanna play around with that thing." Felicity had a crazy look in her eyes, "Don't let my mischief spook you Master." We continued down a long corridor, Felicity practicing thrusts with her new blood frost rapier. We eventually came to a strange chamber near the belly of the ship—filled with floating mist, hanging bells, and a gently rippling pool of water. "This is where I meditate," Faeluxe said. "The Star bite syncs its chi with mine here. I see glimpses of future winds, emotional echoes of battle… or just my own fears, amplified."
I knelt and stared into the pool. My own reflection look tired. Haunted. For a split second I saw my mother standing behind me in the mist. Then gone. Felicity didn't approach the hwater. She hissed, "That thing's watching me." Faeluxe came over and put and hand on my shoulder, "The heart chamber is the last stop, come." We reached a room that pulsed with a power crystal the size of a furnace. At the center of the ship, embedded in a web of golden root-threads.
This was the heart of the Star bite. "It's an Artifact, a Fae produced power crystal." Faeluxe said with a certain pride in her voice. "It remembers every route I've flown. And it likes me." I watched as it flickered brighter when Faeluxe touched it. Then I stepped closer. The core pulsed in recognition. Faeluxe's eyes narrow slightly, "It shouldn't… respond to you like that." I shrugged, "Maybe it just knows where I'm going." Faeluxe shrugged, "Well that's all to show for now, I'll see you to your private quarters."
Faeluxe lead us to a spiral staircase that took us one level higher, then we made a turn around a bend, and we found ourselves at the crew quarters section of the ship. The cabins were lit with fae glow light, there were two bunks, a Brazer for cooking, and even a basin room. "Rest well my lords" Said Faeluxe departing. After unpacking our things and commanding the mimic chest to stay put, I and Felicity returned top side to admire the view.
To the west the sky was a violet fire. The Star bite rode smooth over misty winds. I looked out toward the horizon—the beast vein continent was just a glimmer in the far distance. As the Star bite glided along the cloud line—sails catching the amber light of a rising moon—its gilded hull hummed with gentle resonance. The sky was a sea of stars, the wind soft and salted with the breath of distant islands below.
I stood near the port rail, one hand resting on the polished edge, eyes fixed on the drifting horizon. Behind me, on her bare feet barely making a sound on the deck, Felicity slipped forward. Her wings left a trail faint of bioluminescent red threads, and her hair flowed like tendrils in an underwater current.
She pressed herself against me letting her arms drape down over my crystal collar bones, She exhaled with a sigh that was nearly feline, her chin nuzzling into the crook of my shoulder. "This is so romantic," she whispered, almost in awe. Her voice was delicate, like she was afraid of breaking the moment. "All this sky. All this freedom. And here I am getting to enjoy it with you, Ash." She turned her head, just enough to brush her lips lightly against my neck—not to seduce, not to manipulate—but just to be close. "I never thought I'd see the world like this. Let alone from this high above it." She giggled softly, more to herself than to me. "If you wanted to take me on a date, you didn't have to hijack a flying warship and conquer two Pirate Lords…"
I turned my head to hers slowly and smiled, "I aim to please." The wind stirred my hair, and the ship creaked like a sleeping beast beneath us. But slowly, I let my hand move—just enough to rest atop hers where it hung from my neck. A silent acknowledgment. A tether. The moment stretched, and somewhere below deck, the Heart of the star bite pulsed once syncing with the rhythm of two cultivators, tangled in quiet motion, on the edge of the world.