The Burning Seas (T.R.)

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik stood down near the docks overlooking the bay simply watching some of the ships drift against their tethers as he awaited the arrival of his First Lieutenant. He really didn't want to lose her from The Defiant (she made it so easy to keep the crew in line) but he needed loyal people on other ships now more than ever.

"Damn shame, but it can't be helped I suppose." he muttered to himself as a ship came through the Teeth into the Bay.

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

As the galleon came into the bay the sails flapped limply as several of the sailors ran about the deck with an incredible efficiency, pulling lines and drawing the sails up. Meanwhile a set of oars slid out the side of the boat and dipped into the water, pushing the boat forward into the harbor. The one thing missing was a captain, as no one stood on the castle barking orders. The sailors worked on their own as many shouts were shouted and calls were called across the deck.

The absent captain, as it were, stood on the forecastle, or rather the bowsprit. Displaying that exceptional balance that only T.R. seemed to hold she stood on the very tip of the bowsprit with her arms wide apart, her now-white hair blowing in the breeze created by the ship moving forward. As the ship rowed up alongside the dock T.R. lept clear of the bowsprit and landed neatly on the dock not far from where Merik stood waiting. The sailors aboard the ship continued about their business, throwing ropes around and docking the ship.

"She's a beauty, isn't she," T.R. said with a giggle. "Though I may need to borrow a few more sailors from you, admiral. I had to demonstrate my . . . captaining style and we've been sailing undermanned since," she cooed with a wide, devilish grin. "Still haven't christened her with a new name, though I do have some ideas for modifications." She giggled wickedly. "I may need to borrow your sister. The clever one, not the one you're ****ing," she added with a sing-song voice.

[Merik Dragmire]

A beauty and not on fire, this may yet work... Merik thought with a grin as T.R. landed a few feet away.

"Captain or King T.R. pick one, I've got enough titles without adding a fairly pointless one into the mix; as to your first request it shouldn't be a problem; there's always plenty of sailors looking to get back out there. Your second request might take a few days, Ruma's been taking care of her new pet back at the Fortress but I'll get them shipped out here as soon as I can." he replied as he watched the crew working, making a point of ignoring her last comment.

"You've disciplined the crew, started working on upgrades, have you given any thought to a First Mate yet?"

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

T.R. giggled. "It's not hard to discipline a crew when they value their lives. It's the ones that think they don't care that are real fun, because most of the time they really do care," she said and grinned. "I think admiral suits you. Particularly considering captain is understates your current situation. How many captains have you made in the last few days? How many ships have you added to your fleet?"

First mate. That was a curious question. "Haven't had any worthwhile candidates. Definitely none of these tools. I think what I need is one of those people who really don't care about their life. Maybe someone fireproof, too, though I really doubt I'll find one of those any time soon. Any suggestions, since you're cleaning ship by promoting everyone anyway?" She glanced over at Merik, then reached out and put her hand up against the now-still hull of her ship.

"That's fine. I have my ideas and they'll take sometime to be understandable to anyone," T.R. said with a smirk and a giggle. "New pet? You know I love pets, what's she got?" she cooed and turned, taking a step toward Merik. "Must be better than her sister's new pet." she finished, poking Merik in the chest mischievously.

[Merik Dragmire]

"That's why I also have King as an option, implies much more rulership." Merik said with a smirk before adding. "It's not so much that I added ships to the fleet as just placed them under new management. A few captains decided they wanted to try the mutiny card, didn't expect to be found out so easily."

He considered the active crew of the Defiant anyone that he could send with her.

"I gave Caramon his own command, sent Rennal and Volkin went with him; Dekethorn might work but I haven't heard from him of late; most the Gerudo will probably stick around the Defiant. I think that's about all I've got available right now."

The last question got a little growl from him as he still wasn't the most pleased about it.

"One of the Human Gentries stumbled upon Pirate's Bay and in the ensuing chase to execute him there was an accident from which he saved Ruma and Kotone. Ruma has grown a bit attached to him and we've let her keep him as a slave. As for Kotone...you know quite well that I am no ones pet."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

T.R. smirked at Merik's final comment. "That's really easy to say. I've seen greater men fall victim to this trap. Just you wait, captain, oh my captain. I can only see the past, not the future, after all," she cooed, rubbing her finger down Merik's chest before turning back to her ship. On the topic of pets, Merik had given her one glorious one. The ship, the crew, everything about this made several dozen futures look bleak. But those men valued their lives. T.R. wasn't going to tolerate deserters.

"I was thinking Dragonflame. You'll understand further when I've talked with your sister. Her new pet might be handy, and if you're not too pleased about it I could help. Maybe a little accident or something? My ideas tend to be quite . . . dangerous for those who don't know what they're doing," she giggled, this time with her innocent giggle, and sat down on one of the many barrels that littered the dock.

"You know, every time I come here it reminds me of when we first met," she said thoughtfully. "The sea, all the wood, the countless numbers of potential victims." A pause before she spoke up, as she knew what Merik's mind would be on that last comment. "Pirate or not, you know the price paid for any who cross me, as it has always been, my dear captain." She giggled loudly, and the diabolic noise echoed off of some of the rocks in the bay. Several spines felt shivers go down them at that noise.

[Merik Dragmire]

"And maybe it's a trap that I'll allow to close on me willingly one day, but not for some time yet." Merik replied as T.R. turned back to staring at her ship already starting to memorize every inch.

He nodded at the name she offered for the ship not surprised that it had contained some sort of fire in the title. Her offer to help with the Human was tempting but he ultimately shook his head.

"Ruma'll be with him the whole time and if he winds up dead she'll track it back and that's a headache I don't need."

He listened to her reminisce about the past, a little odd coming from her, though he caught her drift by the end.

"Indeed I do as I'm sure you remember the price for crossing me T.R.; though if you have forgotten, feel free to ask the previous owner of your fine vessel." he said casually as if they were discussing the weather.

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

She laughed at Merik's comment. The price for crossing him. Oh that was quite clear, she saw that all too clearly. "Captain, oh my captain, never has a thought of crossing you crossed my mind. I am one of your most loyal and useful subjects, dear King, even if my blood holds no Gerudo within it." Purple prose, of course, words that held very little in meaning. T.R. didn't work through words, as words were all too often wasted on lies. T.R. worked through actions when it came to proving things.

"I imagine your little beauty will be running quite rough without my discipline holding it all together. You're fearsome, my dear captain, but you value your underlings far too much sometimes. Perhaps that will be your greatest weakness one day, not your vulnerability to women. You've been a busy man, or rather your manhood has been quite busy. Amazing you can rule when you spend half your time without clothing. Reminds me of The Emperor's New Clothes in a way," she finished and giggled.

"You are the king of much, and you take what you want, even from your own sister. Yet you're not too pleased about this Human Gentry surviving within your walls. Don't tell me the great Captain Merik, King of the Seas, the Desert, the Gerudo and the Pirates, Admiral of his own fleet has a glaring weakness when it comes to his blood." T.R. shrugged nonchalantly after saying that. "Don't expect me to weep for you if it's your fall, dear captain, though I serve you loyally I can only point you toward your mistakes, not fix them."

[Merik Dragmire]

"As I've never thought of crossing you, and yet we still warn each other every so often just in case either of us slips up." Merik said with a chuckle though it fell silent as she continued. "I may make her a mostly Gerudo vessel again, I won't deny any others their place on it but now that we're expanding it might work easier this way. As for my recent activities, quite a few of my best decisions were made while I was bare and I'm not one to argue with chance."

An ember of anger stirred within him during her final words, though he quickly quashed it before it could reach a full blaze.

"I took nothing from my sister she did not offer knowingly and who Ruma chooses to love is her own business, with that I have no complaint. But the one law I have strictly enforced here is that any non-pirates who find us be killed lest it endanger us all. And it's made all the more easier that as the Pirate King my identity is largely unknown and I can kill any intruder regardless of their status. I don't think she realizes how much she does care for the Gentry yet because she made a damn clever move to protect him: by bringing him to the Fortress and before the Gerudo King he is a political prisoner that I can't harm. He knows I am the Pirate King, he knows the location of our haven...if he doesn't share Ruma's feelings and he gets free he could bring about the death of many of us. It is for the preservation of my people, Pirate and Gerudo, that I would see him killed, nothing more..."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

Ah, so there was still flame inside of him. Just a spark, but that was the root of all fire. Merik was wise in squashing it, because T.R.'s lust for fire didn't lie strictly in the physical kind. She fed on the emotions caused as fire stirred, to the point where she invoked it in people purposefully. And she just found a way to stir it in her captain, something she had long since given up hope in doing. A wicked grin spread across her face and mischief danced in her eyes as she listened to his words. Words that longed to be lit on fire, longed to be spoken with the fiery passion that Merik had snuffed before it could reach adolescence.

"My dearest captain, you speak too rashly. It is unbecoming of a king to be so tied up in his own family, to speak so boldly of his mistakes. Your business is your own, your people are yours, but while I'm part of the Pirates I can't sit idly by and watch as you endanger them because of your sister's foppery. She may be handy to have around, but is her being happy worth the risk of your people? You have a Human Gentry prisoner; this could bring war down upon you from everywhere, upon us."

T.R. stopped and considered her own sentence. War. Interesting thought. "Of course I'm not against this, now that I think about it. Much more fun, war. But your sister isn't much of a fighter, if I see right. A thinker is not a brawler, and casualties stack up fast in war. Better to kill him and leave him in the desert somewhere, away from your camps. Be done with it if you want to see your sister remain happy after she's gotten over whatever heartbreak her poor, virgin mind will concoct."

T.R. threw Merik a sly grin. "Times are turning tough, war will only make it worse. Winter is coming," she raised her hand and the gauntlet ignited in a blaze. "And you're better off staying close to the fire."

[Merik Dragmire]

"Ruma is one of the primary reasons that Pirate's Bay has managed to keep from sinking...literally; not to mention all the inventions that she has cooked up for the ships. If she were to get really upset she could cause nearly as much damage as any attacking Navy. I stand by my words, he will not die, but that does not mean I'm leaving this risk unhandled; you know me well enough to know that I can't leave this to chance." Merik replied calmly, recognizing T.R.'s game quickly enough.

"And if it turns out that I have absolutely no choice but to shed his blood I will do it myself but a few other options have been presented to me that will satisfy all parties should they work. IF Seraphina finds out I have him, I can still claim that he invaded my fortress to spy and keep him as a prisoner until it's sorted."

The way that she took to the thought of outright war did not fill him with much hope now that he had given her a ship, but if her actions got her killed on the seas so be it. Her final words however brought a chilling smile to his face.

"I am the Son of the Desert, born out of Death; Fire and Ice flow in my blood...I fear not the winter..."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

Impressive resolve on the side of her captain, though T.R. really wouldn't expect any less from the man. The sheer amount of titles he took on alone spoke volumes about him. T.R. grinned at Merik's remark and crossed her legs, leaning back on her barrel and looking skyward. The clouds here were pretty. Particularly with the sun setting as it were. Torches were being lit up and sailors were milling about as they resupplied T.R.'s ship for its next trip.

"Fire requires fuel and ice melts with time. Sitting around tending to the whims of your sisters will kills your fire and melt your ice before you even know it's happening. The man I followed those years ago into that room was a man of action, take what you want, say what you want, not really caring about the rest. You nearly killed me in that room because I was intruding on you. Yet your sisters intrude on your command, go against your laws, and you stand by."

She was really pushing the point now. But that's how points stick. "I'm repeating myself here for you, wasting words. You understand just fine your mistake and that I'm not going to sit idle." She giggled. "These next few weeks are going to be quite fun, I think," she mused and it was clear there was a plethora of thought running through her head as her eyes glazed and she grinned devilishly, plans forming.

[Merik Dragmire]

"And back then I would have been more than happy to see a war break out, unfortunately fate has decided to curse me with a little wisdom over the last few years and much as I'd like I can't unleash a war. As far as my family is concerned you know as well as I do what my decisions have cost them, if I can find a solution that doesn't hurt them I'll take it, if I could find someone that could manipulate memories I'd just wipe it from his mind and call it good." Merik said with a growl, more from memories of how easily matters were handled a few years before than from the fact that T.R. was still pressing him on the matter.

"I don't think you've ever been idle on any matter your whole life, goddess forbid you change now. But I do offer you the warning that this time involvement might bring you perilously close to going over the line. Think that over before you let any of the plans you are currently concocting get much further."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

T.R. could only giggle at his comments. "My dear king, you know me better than most, and you should know that I would never cross you. I am but one of your loyal subjects, loyal to the end, whoever's comes first," she said as she examined the flame on the gauntlets, rolling a small ball of it around her fingers through swift movements that created air flow here and there. Subtle gestures that helped her control the flame in such a close way. Y'know, an analogy for how T.R. worked.

With a flick of her hand the flame extinguished and she jumped down off of the barrel. "And I would have you know that any plans I have are currently concocted. You know me more than anyway, captain, but that doesn't mean you know me. I believe I've told you about the men who have tried to know me, and the way their brains colored the cobblestone shortly thereafter, and for once it wasn't my doing. Not directly, anyway," she giggled and strolled forward, past Merik and down the docks. "Coming?"

She began to hum a tune to herself, though the exact name of the tune was lost to history and the ages. How T.R. knew it was a mystery like everything else. She strolled along slowly and clasped her hands behind her back, almost seeming innocent and not at all diabolic for a moment as her stroll held a schoolgirl's skip.

[Merik Dragmire]

"I know enough for what I need, and as of yet trying to puzzle out anything from you has not brought about suicidal thoughts." Merik replied with a chuckle as they started walking along the docks.

In all honestly he was fairly certain that the truth behind the mystery of Tabula Rasa was that there was no one to know there anymore. Because of her power she was little more than a vessel for thousands of lives and memories, something you'd have had to live with your whole life to really comprehend; it was little wonder that she was more than a little mad and those who had tried to really understand her had killed themselves.

"I'm rather curious T.R., do you ever think about what you would have been like if you didn't have your little ability?"

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

There was a simple answer to Merik's question. "Dead a hundred times over, my dear captain, one of those times being by your own blade I'm sure. A girl comes intruding on your personal time in your room and refuses to leave, why I would have killed me had I not proven my worth. My little ability, as you call it, has gotten my far more than you can conceive. There are treasures outside of gold to be sought." She continued to skip along as she answered his question, though she stopped suddenly and whirled around, looking Merik dead in the eye.

"Of course there are such questions to ask you, too. Where would you be without your heritage, for example. The only Gerudo male in the world, born to be king. What would have happened if you were born anything else? What would have happened if you were born a hybrid? It certainly would've been much harder for you to become to scourge of the high seas, now wouldn't it? Don't question what you are born with, just punish those who renounce it," T.R. commented with another one of those wicked grins. She had spent most of her life being put down because she was a hybrid, clearly there was a reason behind those last few words.

Then, just like that, she continued to skip along the docks, heading for the stairs upward. "Your sister has done a fair number with this city. Oh how I do love these high places," she almost sang.

[Merik Dragmire]

"If it were Tabula Rasa in those situations, then yes, I suppose death would probably have remained an inevitability but I'm not talking about Tabula Rasa. The girl who was forced to adapt and become Tabula Rasa though...would she have even been in a sailor's pub in Westport, or would she be living a calm, quiet life as a farm-girl in Ordona? Or as some noble's daughter in Castle Town? Or perhaps even a street urchin in Kakariko? Though with all the lives you've taken into yourself could you even find the girl you once were if you wanted to? And who knows maybe in ten years this Tabula Rasa will be as lost as the girl you started as? I've seen enough of your ability at work to know it's as much as curse as it is a gift and weapon." Merik replied as T.R. stopped to face him and ask her own questions.

"If I were not born the sole male I'd just be one of the other unknown Dragmire Princesses that have been born in the years between Ganondorf and myself." he replied without a thought on the matter, it was an easy enough answer as long as he was a Gerudo. "Honestly T.R., being a Hybrid wouldn't have hampered my ability to become the Pirate King I am today, it hasn't caused me any trouble so far. People say that the rise in the Hybrids is a more recent event and should be feared, so they treat them as the lowest of the low. Except even the Hybrids overlook the fact that they've been around for untold centuries as their own race and still looked down upon. Ganondorf took one of his generals as his Queen as the war was beginning, and as far as I've been able to learn she was one of two Gerudo women he took to his bed. Which means in the last century there were two cases of a male and female Gerudo pairing and yet despite that the Gerudo exist all across the desert and all across the seas right now. It's an overlooked fact because all our children are born Gerudo but we have bred with the other races out of necessity since the curse was brought upon us; the Gerudo were the first full on Hybrid race."

He set after her once more as they resumed walking, heading up to the next level.

"If we keep expanding upward we'll need to bring in Terramancers to raise the walls higher...can't have us being noticed just because we went too high."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

She really didn't understand what he was trying to get at here. T.R. continued up a level and along the second level of the city, her path set for the next level yet. She giggled. "If you've seen what I have you would be a broken husk of a Gerudo. I've adapted to survive, both mentally and physically. I know who I am, what I've done, and I know what I've seen, what belongs to others. I am not just some collection of different identities searching desperately to have a personality of my own, captain, I have my personality as you know all too well. Everything else is just a perk.

"I know more than your sister, I've killed more than your other sister and I've bedded more people than you. Sometimes the three work together, which is always nice," she said, stopping for a moment dreamily. "And all paths would put me in your room in Westport, not because I'm chaotic, or because you think I'm crazy. All paths put me there because I am, and always have been, opportunistic to my own needs and gain. You were an opportunity and I'd have been a fool to pass it up. Look where it's gotten me!" she said just as she reached a rail overlooking the harbor, and particularly her galleon which stood taller than most of the other ships currently docked.

"Secrets are merely opportunities waiting to be discovered. Each one locked away is a new weapon to have over your opponent, your enemies. Each one is leverage against people, or a contingency against betrayal. It's so nice to have unwarranted access to any secret I wish," she said with that singsong voice again, heading up to the next level. "Why the sudden interest in who I am, anyway, my dear captain? Afraid I'm secretly plotting your demise? My oh my I'm flattered to be the object of desire for the great and infamous Merik Dragmire."

[Merik Dragmire]

"Hardly sudden as you've interested me as long as I've known you, today just seems like the day for intrapersonal questions." Merik said with a shrug as they stood for a moment to watch the ships in the Bay before they continued upward.

"So what do you plan to do if we ever actually succeed: I become King of Hyrule, raise the Gerudo and Hybrids from the hole the other races have been trying to force us into, and maybe take a break from pirating. But what about you? Perhaps rule the Hybrids as my loyal second once more? Or will you just keep sailing around torching everything in sight?"

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

"Being interesting keeps a person alive. Keep that in mind, sire," T.R. said and then skipped her way up the steps to the next level. It was fun watching the dwellers of Pirate Bay avoid looking in her direction or going near her. No one wanted to cross the Pirate King's second, particularly when she was insane. Then when Merik came following behind there was a moment of clear relief among the folk and then they all rushed about again, looking to get busy or get out of the way.

"Gerudo are interesting in their genetics. The way all Gerudo hybrids become Gerudo, the way a Gerudo gene dominates all others. Almost symbolic, don't you think? There certainly is a place for the Hybrids and the Gerudo to co-exist, but we're plagued with an unfortunate need of 'purebloods' to procreate. Still, with Hybrids becoming more and more prominent things will certainly get interesting." T.R. kept going toward the upper layers. She was determined to get to the highest point, for whatever reason.

"You imply that I have a master plan, my dear king. My plans merely invoke personal gain, get me to a position where I can have fun. Like now, with my own vessel. What fun that is. Though I may need to fireproof it before the first voyage. I merely want two things out of my life, two things that I seek to achieve, whether it's by your side or scourging the seas. Chaos and order, captain, oh my dear captain, are everything I need." She giggled wickedly at the paradox.