Here is the start of another good storyline, it's on the Hook, I figure it will change as the story progresses, Haiku ...
Prologue …
You have to realize these two items. One, there are an infinite number of realities out there. Two, every person has a different variation of your soul in each one of these realities.
The variation is in alignment, from a total negative soul through one that is half of both positive and negative to a total positive soul and every variation between this. You are some variation of this right now.
Now if one was to be reborn into a same reality you would get a same soul but a different variation of it. One that is higher in positive vibrations could return with a soul that is higher in the same. Although the same could be said of one that is higher in negative vibrations.
Sometimes an inanimate object could tie this all together, it would allow for a soul group to follow the item, this would allow for a higher soul guide to place any one of a number of variations in any available body.
For our story here we look to a item that pointed to an negative influence, not a major one mind you but one none the least. The item was a hand replacement, a iron hook or a hook hand, it acted as a prosthetic replacement for the same and could be used as a tool or as a weapon. This one in specific was worn by a man that died in the mouth of a great crocodile, it spat out the hook and the peg leg he bore as it was beyond digestibility.
Now the prosthetic eventually found its way to another body, it didn’t matter who as it would transform the owner to what was needed to match the level and type of influence. For this one, it was an influence that was mostly negative although it still had less than ten percent of the opposing influence. Lets just say that this one was closer to advancing as a negative influence, but not quite there yet.
Out of the darkness …
A man stood at the railing, he was on the quarterdeck looking out into blackness. He was the Captain of this ship, a vile man now that he’s been reborn, so unlike he was afore when he spent all of his time chasing after a youth. He didn’t understand at that time how it didn’t help his soul situation, but it did bolster his next variation, which is where it is now.
The Hook took this mans body and remade it, it was no longer a drunken slob but a solid man of power. He was mid-aged, not close to showing a sign of aging yet as his hair showed greying naught. Speaking of his hair, it was black and grew to a length that reached his shoulders, a short trimmed goatee beard matched it with a mustache that spread out twice that. His face was handsome but long, an earring with a black pearl and short feather hung from his left ear. But his eyes were dark, a black pupal that was ringed with the darkest of brown in color, eye sockets that showed the darkness of evil.
He wore a pirates clothes, a leather coat of dark gray that was highly embossed with gold embroidery and gold buttons across his chest, sleeve cuffs in the same, an inner liner of red velvet. He had an inner coat, a vest with more. And because of the red liner he wore a red sash under a belt of leather that held his sword, dagger and pistol. He topped this all off with a black leather tricorn hat that he wore with the point forward.
There was no smile and it didn’t look like he could anyway, all he showed was anger throughout his face.
He held at the railing of his ship, a galleon of fearfulness, a crew of scallywag’s that awaited his order and a psychopath quartermaster that all but the Captain feared, he kept the rest in-line, that included his cook Smee. And here he was, looking into the void with no idea on how to extract himself and his ship from the same, so he contemplated his situation.
‘Damnit we followed them right into a trap, I blame Smee, the crew heard his screams over my shouts. And now look at us, in between worlds and floating in the unnamed seas, at least were not alone, the rope ties us together in the same, Smee did this, the only good thing he’s done since I returned.’
They were no force anymore, all they had was a Spanish Galleon, the Jolly Roger. It had sixty-four cannons, the lower gundeck with twenty-six eighteen-pounders, the middle gundeck with twenty-six ten-pounders, then on the quarterdeck and forecastle there were twelve six-pounders. And on the end of a rope was the only ship one could see, it was a Frigate with twenty-four eight-pounders. We saw no others, they were lost in the unnamed seas.
There was no wind here nor wave in this sea, and as he looked up, they had sail set but they caught naught an air current. So here he stayed, his quartermaster behind him with arms crossed as he stationed himself between the crew and the Captain. It was Smee that interrupted him, he had a platter with two mugs of mead on it, one for the Hook, the other for his first mate, a woman. As he passed the quartermaster he snarled at him, which made Smee cower but it also notified the Captain of the intrusion.
Smee with weak-knees short stepped up to the man, he knew the Captain as he was before, which he was now naught, any misstep forthwith would cost him his life and he knew it. This was why he was so hesitant to deliver this now. You see, Smee was already on his list for getting them in this distress that they were in, it was only the rope he tossed to the other ship that kept him from being keel-hauled. So he stepped with his left foot and drug his right as it was too weak from fear to move.
A woman saw this, she was on the fly deck and stepped down to agitated Smee. She was a cold goddess, dressed in a blue jacket and a tricorn hat with a red leather rim to it. A beauty she was but not one that anyone would touch without fear of losing a hand in the process. Needless to say, she was well armed with a firm body and two swords, a matching set of fire blades and a double barrel hog leg.
She brushed her dark hair over her ear as stopped Smee, she put her hand on his shoulder, it almost made him pee himself. She took the mugs and head-shewed the cook away, he gratefully complied. Then she went up the Hook, he turned to her but just her … he didn’t smile but he grabbed her lapel with his hook and brought her in close and he kissed her with a filthy embrace. As he pushed her away she spilled some of the drink which he saw.
Then she took a drink from his mug to show it wasn’t poisoned … he then took the mug of mead from her and turned back to the empty view. This was the life of the Hook, he trusted no one, he cared about no one other than himself, it could be no other way if he was to survive this negative lifestyle. She and the quartermaster were the only ones he trusted, but not fully.
And she was the only one he let come up to him like this as she slipped up to his side and took his arm as she drank from her mug.
The Hook spoke as he asked, “Ulla, have you found a way out of this?” she shook her head so he took this further as he pushed her away and said, “Than leave me be .. and kill that cook if he fails me again.” At least that brought a half-smile to her face as she liked that thought.
She took her place on the fly deck and as she drank her mead she looked to her benefactor here, she had a good place here as his number one mate, she knew it and she meant to keep it too. That meant watching all that might seek his consultation, to step into the interaction to keep her place at his side.
And this is how life went on the Jolly Roger, for how long was unknown as time doesn’t exist in the void … there is no light and no desire here.
Then that all changed in a single moment as a lightning storm approached. It rode not on the winds as there was naught in the void, but it was approaching fast and the quartermaster called all men to station as it looked like they were going on another disparaging journey.
The Hook turned to greet this challenge, he raised his mug to his mouth and spouted, “Hard to starboard,” but without wind the ship moved naught, he called out, “Hard to port,” but with the same result.
Then he tossed his mug to the deck and headed to the wheel to take over. Behind him Smee slipped to the floor to grab his mug that was rolling toward railing, he knew he couldn’t lose it or it would be his existence if he did … he caught it and ran below decks.
The Hook spoke no more, it was all the quartermaster as he called out orders to the men on deck. Some went up in the rigging, others took station at cannons in case they were needed. But through it all … the storm approached.
The lightning took on another form as it started at the bow and hit every cannon on the deck, men jumped away as they saw this, then they looked to the Captain as he scowled at them … then they came back to station. The lightning reached the Hook, but instead of cowering he raised his right hooked hand and let the lightning strike it with it’s full force. He felt it, but it didn’t detour him as he let it ride within him to spark out to a nearby cannon, it hit with an explosion as it sparked off the powder that sat in the cannon and off it fired into the void.
Then as a curtain of lightning passed, all on board were blinded, when eyes could see again, they were in the void naught more. They were in a round bay of ample proportions, a crude gathering of towns with a single greater one in the center.
The Hook grabbed the wheelman and yanked him to the wheel and pointed to the dock therein and said, “Put us on that dock … Now!”
The quartermaster took this and a whip came out and cracked over the heads of men as he spouted orders all around. There was wind once again, the sails caught it and drew them into the port as it was. As they came in close sails were being furled and tied as a man ran out to the ship as they pulled in and tied up, it was the harbor master.
The harbor master called out, “Who goes there?”
And the Hook stepped up to the railing to look at the man, his upper lip twitched, he pulled his right hand out from behind his back to show it as he said, “I am the second coming of the Hook and I’m taking over this port … who has command here … as they are naught anymore? Send out word to all captains have them gather for more.” There was fear in the eye of the harbor master, he knew the name, others did too as men scattered to comply with the order.
The frigate came in naught to the other side of the dock but along side of the galleon and tied up to them. The Hook pointed to the Captain and said, “Watch the ships, I trust no one,” then he pointed to two on his ship as he stated, “You two with me,” it was the quartermaster and Ulla.
But as they approached the railing, the Hook was giving the cove a look, and precisely the ships that resided there. there was a dock to the starboard side, it held five ships, a man of war with forty-four twelve-pounder cannons, it was a worthy ship. Tied up on the same dock was five brigantines, each with sixteen six-pounder cannons. Just past them and with a decent spacing was another galleon that had thirty-six ten-pounder cannons. And in a similar spacing were more, frigates, each with twenty-four eight-pounder cannons.
As he looked the port he saw a mirror of the starboard. It was two hundred and ninety-two cannons all together, with his sixty-four and the twenty-four on his frigate, this was three hundred and eighty cannons total … a respectable number if he had to say so himself … but it still didn’t raise a smile to his face.
Three ropes were dropped and each one took one as they leapt over the railing to slide down to the dock. It was a wide dock almost three meters wide and right now there were men lined up on each side of to see this procession. So the Hook didn’t keep them in waiting as he made his way between the men.
Then as they passed a man on the right he whistled just as Ulla passed to get her attention. It did and it stopped all three as she brought up a sword to the man’s neck, then she looked to the Hook and waited. He nodded as she dropped the first sword, then the second came across almost removing his head from his neck. Blood sprayed others there and the man fell to the dark waters below the dock, now that satisfied the Hook as he cracked a one sided smile. Then they turned and proceeded on.
As they reached the end of the dock a man stepped up, he removed his bicorn hat and stated this, “My forgiveness, we have a hall at the top of the hill,” as he pointed the way. And his quartermaster pushed the man back as he was too close. The man took it and cowardly said, “Let me show you the way,” as he hatted back up.
And led he did up to the stairs of the hall, a building sitting on a steam geyser vent, it burst off a stream and as the cloud came up the Hook took a handful of it and brought it to his face. He smelled and there were traces of sulfur in it, he nodded and climbed up the steps to the wrap around deck. He was in observation mode right now so he stopped and turned to the railing to look out from here, it was a good view of the whole island that included the two others that guarded the entrance.
He looked to his left, a ring of mountains guarded the rear here, as he looked to his right, more were seen, it was a well-fortified location … he liked it.
He pulled out a boatman whistle, it was made of a black material but it wasn’t rock or metal, it was something else, it bore the image of a gorgon on its fin. He brought it up to his mouth and did a low pitch then a high pitch … twice. Then he did one that sounded like a warbler and did it for five seconds, he caught his breath and did a last one that was a trill, it was done by rolling his tongue off the roof of his mouth. And he then put it away to a pocket in his coat.
He turned to see the man that brought him up the hill, he was at the opened door of the hall awaiting the Hook, he had his hat off and head bowed as he stepped into the hall but he stopped after only a few steps to the interior. And he scanned the place, it was twenty meters wide and twice that in length, on each side was a balcony supported by tree sized posts. Below then were tables made from water barrels and stools that were of smaller ones, there were eight per side and haphazardly set, there was no order here.
And the hook started with this, he turned to his quartermaster and said, “Mook, bring twelve up here, arm them with pistol and musket and put them up on the balcony. Get that bastard cook up here, I have a need.”
Mook, he was Nubian, a man of blades, a hand above two meters tall and solid. He bore cuts, one for each man he killed, and he showed them as they were all over his arms, chest and face … if one was to count them you would find over a hundred on his form. He cut out of there but stopped at the man at the door and looked to the Hook for guidance, he didn’t know if he wanted him removed. The Hook looked to him and shook his head.
The man knew naught of what was needed of him, Mook left and the Hook said, “Find two more, I want this place cleaned up, sweep and align the tables … I don’t like disarray … make it so!” as the man left to find others he went to close the double door and the hook spouted, “Leave the doors open, I have Aegis coming,” and the man bowed to him as he departed not really understanding his words, but he left the doors open for whatever it was.
Then he did a slow stroll with hook and hand behind his back as he walked the center of the hall. He stopped at the end in front of the raised table, he kicked it for sturdiness, it seemed solid, the table and chair obviously from one of the ships. Ulla kept her place, she stayed just behind and on his right side as that was her place now.
He was disturbed by a thud out the entry door and he looked to it, it was Darmon and he just jumped to the base of the stairs outside. Then he did another short jump up to the deck instead of climbing the stairs and both their eyes came together, it was a first look for each of them.
The Hook waved him in with his hook and Darmon took advantage of the situation and did a jump to his left side, it didn’t surprise the Hook, naught even one bit, but Ulla pulled a sword. Then Darmon showed his biggest asset to the Hook, his fangs. Now both did an inspection of each other without words, and they came back to look at each other’s right hand. Darmon had the mechanical hand, a series of metal fingers to wrist and all the way to his elbow. The Hook with his hook, a bronze colored gaffing hook on a like colored cuff, it had symbols embossed around the hook of it. They both pointed their right appendage at the other and simultaneously said, “I can use someone like you.” No more was said but there were two nods as each liked what they saw in the other.
As Darmon took his seat in the corner, Smee and three men came in, the one that brought the Hook up here and two more scurvy dogs. Smee stepped it up and started ordering the men around, sweeping and a general cleanup, he well knew the Hook didn’t like the disarray he saw here, and he got no more than a brief look from the Hook. As they moved to cleaning up, Smee went to the tables and lined them all up.
Then after a bit, more showed up, it was his twelve men and Mook and he directed them men to the loft above as he came in as the Hook took up his place at the raised table with his feet up on it to watch. Mook made his way to the front of the table and he saw Darmon at the table there, he put his hand on his hilt as he looked to him, then to the Hook as he waved him off with his hook. So Mook took his place on the left, behind the Hook but beside Ulla, but not without another look to Darmon as he now worried of his position here.
The next arrival were boars with massive tusks, they were males and their upper canine tusks came right out of the top of their snout. They were beasts at a hundred kilo’s and they came prancing in through the open doors and stopped to look around. Those above pulled pistols, those below cowered at the sight of them. But the Hook took this as he rapped his hook on the table, it drew all to look at his as he said, “They’re with me,” they picked up on it as they trotted up to the table and parked it on each side of table at the front edge of the platform.
And as they dropped their bellies to the floor another came in on a set of wings. It was a bone eating bearded vulture that came in and landed on the Hooks seatback. It stood well over a meter tall with a wingspan of more than three, he didn’t even duck to it.
Then men jumped to tables as the next showed, it was a black leopard, ninety kilo’s and a body length of two meters with tail, it had a look as it walked down the center of the hall. It stopped to look at Smee as he was a plump one, it licked his lips, then it continued and laid down under the table at the Hook’s feet, talk about a lineup. And somehow the cleaning crew sped up their task to quickly get out of there, Smee stayed as he knew he had to.
That’s when pirates starting showing up, and not the few that had showed before, the Hook had twice them in attendance. Captains took seats at the tables and men crowded near or lined the walls in here, this was an event naught to miss. And as you look out the doors many more were on the decks outside listening in.
This is when Greybeard stepped into the hall from a side door, he had four men with him that gasped as they saw the man in his seat at his table. I’m sure the animals that were tracking with them were helping. As for greybeard he looked to the Hook, then to the men on the balconies. It was twelve of them as he looked at each and every one.
The first wore an eyepatch and showed a firm chest and stomach. Next was a handsome one that carried a living vine in his one hand. Beside him was a black man who was swinging a long bola. To his right was an American Indian fellow, he carried no sword, only daggers of various lengths. The man next to him was another black man that showed two pistols. The last on this side was a dashing man in a red coat that looked English.
He turned to see the rest on the opposing side. The first one on this side was an Irish man that carried glass vials and bottle, each were filled with swirling liquids. Then came the elf with glowing purple eyes and dressed all in black. The Turkish man was next with a long beard and grenades from his belt. Another dashing savvy man was next wearing a tight black outfit that Ulla noticed quite often. This led you to the Spaniard with a short green coat and the last was the dashing Greek, blonde long hair in a green coat.
Now Darmon was watching all of this, he had no love of this man as he was seen cowering. He just sat there waiting for the resolve to happen here, so he pulled out a gold lined goblet from his coat, it was full as he sipped at the drink.
Now it was the time for the Hook, he was observing all of this, and he could feel his fear from there. He even dug his hook into the table here to intimidate the man. Then he stood and slipped around the platform and up to Greybeard and stopped inches from his face. Greybeard had no words to say, in the world of the self-serving he was a failure and the Hook saw it more than clearly.
Then the Hook said, “Failure is not an option,” he raised his hook to his face and to his throat, then he ripped it across it as it tore flesh from his neck. And as his blood spilled he fell to the floor, surprisingly his hook held none of it.
And here was the Hook, his sneer said it all as he scanned the faces, first to the left and then to the right, he was looking for more fear. He did see some and those he would remember, but it was naught the Captains, that was his main need.
He took this time to scan the troops, he stepped out and walked the center isle of the hall, down the left side and then back on the right, there was absolute silence in the hall.
Then he turned to them as he pointed to the lifeless form on the floor and said, “Follow me or his fate will be yours,” he paused enough to look the Captains in the eyes as he spouted this out, “What say you!” And there were ‘Aye’s’ from all around and not only from just from the Captains … just the way he liked it.
Then he hear a growl from the leopard and he turned to them and said, “You can have the body, share his flesh … that is if you can.”
And all watched as the big cat stepped up to the body and drug it all the way down the hall and out the front doors to watching eyes. The Boars were on its tail and the vulture followed as there were good bones there to eat, it would wait until the others had their fill as it didn’t want the flesh.
Now there was a blood streak that went down the center of the hall and the Hook walked it as he said, “Now out there is something I need … and I am willing to pay handsomely for it. I can feel my leg here and I want it back, I don’t care how you do it or how many you lose to get it back … I’ll pay the one that brings it back to me ten thousand coin. What say you?”
Dollar signs showed in eyes and there was a resounding ‘Aye’ from all around.
Darmon took this, he stood and came to the platform, he set a foot on it as he said, “I might be able to help there … I have an inkling of just where it is … but I need ships that will fight and not flee.
Then as the Hook stood in the blood and looking at Darmon he said, “Smee, get this cleaned up … when you’re done see to his hovel, I’ll need a place to stay as I straighten up this port … and get all my chests up here from the ship … Move it!” and Smee was out to find the other three so the cleanup can proceed. Then the Hook directed this to Darmon, “We need to talk.”
As for the Hook, he pranced out the doors and to the deck, men all over were pulling hats and bandana’s and bowing as he walked the perimeter deck to the back side of the hall to watch his beasts tear apart the remains of Greybeard.
