"We found the third cargo ship this season, two days out from Dragon's Maw - a ghost ship adrift on a crimson sea. Blood had pooled like black oil across the deck, already crusting in the salty air. The cargo hold gaped empty, not a drop of orange sap remained. There were signs of a brutal battle. The crew didn’t give up without a fight. Who - or what - did they face that made them fight to the death ?"
Captain Lin Zhao, Jade Domain Maritime Patrol, report on missing freighters,
Day 12 of The Burning, 124 AP
A sea-borne Prime convoy is transporting its precious cargo along the coast of the Jade Domain, from Huẽt to Zan-Hae.
Guard troopers are on a constant lookout for dangerous sea creatures and pirates.
The large crew have the never-ending task of keeping the aging vessels seaworthy, no matter the weather.
Owing to the backbreaking work aboard these ships, the sea crews of Prime freighters are famously hard and not to be trifled with when they enter a port city bar!
The crew and guards will usually form a close bond over the course of a long journey.
Just a few days before the freighter reaches its destination, it is approached by a mysterious force of small boats...
During their final approach, the small boats approach quietly, without any lights.
Under the cover of night & fog, a war party of the mysterious Skryx, the scourge of the southern seas, boards the freighter.
These mysterious warriors fight in the name of Nyx and are known for their almost inhuman ruthlessness and brutality.
Once they reach the top deck and the superstructure, the Skryx quickly and quietly spread across the ship.
Making no more sound than the falling of rain, the Skryx approach the sentries.
One by one, the Skryx kill the sentries on deck, efficiently and without pity...
With the sentries eliminated, the Skryx continue below deck. They begin to butcher the unarmed crew in a blood crazed killing spree, and the narrow passages inside the bowels of the ship are soon flooded with blood...
Initially, the crew is taken by surprise...
...but eventually the screams of the dying alert the rest of the crew!
With the element of stealth lost, the Skryx switch to their guns!
A Siren of Nyx stalks the ship's passages, incinerating the minds and souls of crew members with powerful blasts of energy!
The alerted crew run for the weapon lockers and arm themselves. They're not trained warriors, but they have the will to fight - and in the narrow corridors, it's hard to miss a target!
The crew arm themselves and try to calm their nerves - they realise they are not facing ordinary pirates!
The crew begins to fight back!
With their intimate knowledge of the freighter's layout, they soon drive the Skryx before them, killing the intruders one by one.
After hours of fighting, the ship's passages are filled with the dead and dying.
After the battle below deck, individual survivors emerge here and there.
They are greeted by an overwhelming force of Skryx waiting for them on the deck! Disheartened, they finally surrender...
The surviving crew are rounded up...
...and given to the sea!
Hungry creatures await the fresh meat, and the sea soon turns to blood.
When the killing is finally done, a Tide Witch of Nyx boards the freighter to inspect her prize - orange sap from the jungles of the Jade Domain, a crucial ingredient for the production of Omnimorph...