Chapter 1: The woman on the rock

‘‘There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. Three months ago there were no dragons in the Valley at all. Now it is filled with them.’’ The woman sat upright in bed and leaned back against the bedhead. She closed her hazel eyes, wincing from the pain of her exertion, and then opened them again. She turned her head slightly to the right to face her rescuer, Captain Venus Sable. Venus stared at the woman intently, silently imploring her to continue her account. The woman obliged.

‘‘We first heard reports of dragons from shepherds in the Valley's foothills who spotted winged beast clinging to crags and circling mountaintops. Aside from snatching the odd sheep or two, the dragons tended to keep their distance. And so, despite their presence, we felt secure. Our Valley’s capital, Karpos, is ringed with high stone walls and tall towers bristling with archers. Well trained, the finest soldiers in the Archipelago. The dragons would not dare assault our capital, we though. Little did we know they were simply waiting for the opportune moment to strike. When our army sailed away to do battle against the Commonwealth, the dragons, greedy for gold, descended on Karpos like a hurricane. Without our army to protect us, we didn’t stand a chance. Do you know what happened to our fleet, Captain?’’

Venus felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. She knew exactly what had happened to the Valley’s fleet: it had been destroyed by the fleet she sailed in, the fleet of the Commonwealth of Pyrates. Most of the Karponesian ships lay at the bottom of the sea. Those that remained afloat had been claimed by the Commonwealth’s most valiant and ambitious pyrates. With their fleet destroyed, Venus had dared to hope that Karponesse's war with the pyrates would finally come to an end. The coming of the dragons made that hope a reality.

‘‘Your fleet was destroyed,’’ was all Venus could bring herself to say. ‘‘You will learn more about what transpired soon enough, just as we will learn more from you. Now get some rest, Sativa. You would do well to recover your strength while you still can. It won’t be long before we reach Woebetide. When we do, the Council of Captains will call upon you, and then it will be too late.’’

Venus rose from the chair by the side of Sativa’s bed. ‘‘I’m going out. When you’re ready to come out, help yourself to whatever is in my wardrobe.’’

‘‘Fear not. I will be ready by the time we arrive. Thank you, Captain Sable.’’ Sativa wriggled forward and then lay down under the coverlet. She rested her head on the fresh pillow Venus had brought for her and closed her eyes.

Venus gently made her way towards the cabin door and pushed it open. After a brief moment of adjusting to the sunlight, Venus strode out onto the deck of her ship, the brigantine Anadyomene. She walked to the starboard side of her ship and gazed over the gunwale at the vessels that had accompanied them on their voyage: the schooners Tyberon and Cyane, and the brigantine Crimson Curse. The sky above them was clear and blue. Venus took a moment to savor the sea air. Then she turned heel and headed for the helm, where her first mate Gehrig ably steered the ship.

‘‘How much further, Gehrig?’’ Venus asked.

‘‘Not long now, Captain.’’ Gehrig replied. ‘‘The wind is with us. We will reach the Nest within the hour.’’ Venus glimpsed a concentration of dark rocks on the horizon.

The Nest. It took Venus a moment to realize Gehrig was referring to their destination, the pyrate city of Woebetide. Once known as the Pyrates’ Nest, the city was located on the slopes of an imposing isle in the middle of a labyrinth of jagged rocks. Some of the rocks that made up the labyrinth were only a few meters high, while others rose as tall as towers. Some years ago, a crusading fleet dispatched by the Disciples of Lenhios sought to blockade all channels leading into and out of the labyrinth, but it was not enough to stop swift pyrate vessels from ferrying supplies to and from the city. His patience exhausted, the fleet’s admiral ordered his troops to sail through the labyrinth and storm the city within, causing his entire fleet to crash against the rocks. Several years later, as Captain Kalamare perused the markets of Mermaid’s Purse, he bought a copy of Brother Sobor’s A Chronicle of the Crusade Against the Pyrate Commonwealth, the Enemy of the World. The last line of this tome reads: ‘‘Woe betide any foe foolish enough to storm the city’’. The pyrates had taken to calling it Woebetide ever since. At least, Venus thought to herself, most of them did.

As the rocks grew closer, and the sun inched slightly higher, Venus saw a flash of gold on the deck below. She walked forward several steps and saw Sativa walking towards the stairs. The woman had made the most of Venus’s invitation to plunder her wardrobe, and was now dressed in the most ostentatious dress in her possession: a cloth of gold gown inlaid with precious stones that glittered in the sunlight. Venus did not know Sativa’s station back in the Valley of Karponesse, but based on the way she was dressed, Venus guessed she was a woman of noble birth. And in her experience, women of noble birth would rather be murdered by a peasant than be caught looking like one.

‘‘I see you were not shy about choosing from my wardrobe,’’ Venus said.

‘‘Forgive me, is this something I should not have chosen?’’ asked Sativa. ‘‘I will get changed straight away.’’

‘‘No need. You were told to wear whatever you wanted. You wear it well.’’

Sativa smiled bashfully. Venus gestured to her first mate.

‘‘Sativa, this is Gehrig, the Anadyomene’s first mate. Gehrig, this is Sativa.’’

‘‘It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Gehrig.’’

‘‘The pleasure is mine, milady.’’

The warm glow of the sun suddenly grew tepid, and Venus felt the world begin to darken. The rocky walls of the labyrinth loomed before them, plunging the Anadyomene and its escort into shadow.

‘‘Cut the sail,’’ Gehrig cried. As the ship’s crew rushed to do his bidding, Gehrig steered the ship left towards the labyrinth’s nearest entrance, Hell’s Gate. Venus looked behind and saw that the other ships had fallen into line behind theirs. She was glad to have Gehrig aboard to guide them all through the labyrinth. Venus had done it plenty of times herself, but always felt better with Gehrig at the helm. At some points the sea was only just deep enough, and the channels only just wide enough, for the larger pyrate ships to sail through, leaving only a couple of meters between their hulls and the seafloor. One wrong turn could spell disaster. She had had a few close calls. The Anadyomene still bore a scar from the time when Venus grazed her hull against the rocks. She always felt nervous that something might go wrong, and wondered if Gehrig had ever felt the same. She could not imagine it.

After some deft sailing, Gehrig guided the Anadyomene and its escort through the labyrinth into the calm, milky blue waters of the Bay of Pyrates. On the other side of the bay, Venus could see the harbor and, just beyond, the famous city of Woebetide. Built around the base of an enormous rock rising over 300 meters above the water, the mass of stone houses, shops and taverns formed a grey wave sweeping up the mountainside, and an imposing grey tower stood proudly at its peak. Whilst the oldest and grandest dwellings were built out of stone, the recent flood of new arrivals had built wooden huts using the wood from old ships. The city had been built by an ancient and nameless people who disappeared long ago, and the name it once bore had been lost to history. The pyrates stumbled across the city by accident. During a pyrate raid, a treasure map marking the location of the city was found buried among a number of old manuscripts. Believing the map would lead to treasure, the pyrates were surprised to find that it led to a deserted but well-preserved city. Now Woebetide served as the chief stronghold of the Commonwealth of Pyrates and the seat of its leaders, the Navarchy, in times of war. But for a small garrison holding the city, the city ordinarily lay empty. However, during wartime, its population would swell to as many as 40,000 souls. Prone to fighting amongst themselves, the Commonwealth of Pyrates would form and reform when the pyrate city-states needed to band together to face a common enemy, or in pursuit of a common goal.

At the base of the rock was an artificial harbor, circular in shape, and with an island at its center. A bridge connected the island in the harbor to the city’s entrance. From the edge of the harbor, two walls running in parallel 50 meters apart reached 200 meters out across the water. At the end of each wall was an outpost, its occupants scanning the horizon and scrutinizing any ship that approached. The ships sailed in between the harbor’s stony limbs and through the channel before reaching its usual berth near the bridge, but across from the island. As her ship came to a stop, Venus noted the grandest ships moored beside the island: the man o' war Contemnor, Captain Kalamare’s frigate Imprimatur, and several others. She then turned around and looked at the quay, where she saw a man in a wheeled, wooden chair waiting for her. Seeing Jayq again after so long was bittersweet. Her husband had once stood so tall. A keen adventurer, a fierce warrior, and an exceptional lover. At heart he remained all of these things, but the accident that had deprived him the use of his legs had made it harder for him. Jayq’s accident had not led Venus to love her husband any less. Her love for him ran deeper now that it ever had. But every time she saw him, her heart broke for him all over again.

Venus waited impatiently for her crew to set down the gangplank. When it was finally in place, Venus turned to Sativa and gestured for her to disembark first. It was all she could do to stop herself from running towards Jayq. When their feet landed on the quay, Sativa stood still. She looked around, gazing at the busy harbor, observing every detail. ‘‘This way,’’ Venus whispered. Sativa snapped out of her trance and followed Venus a short distance down the quay until they stood before Jayq. His eyes drank in the sight of her. His head was slightly titled to the side as he smiled his trademark smile. Venus could not help but smile in turn.

‘‘Welcome home, Captain,’’ Jayq said cheerfully. ‘‘You finally made it.’’ He held her dusky hand in his bronze fingers and kissed it tenderly. She closed her eyes as a surge of warmth coursed through her body. For a brief moment the whole world disappeared, and she wanted nothing more than to be alone with him. When she opened her eyes, she saw Sativa and her husband looking at each other expectantly.

‘‘Sativa, this is my husband, Jayq. Jayq, this is Sativa. She is a survivor of the Valley’s destruction.’’

Sativa nodded. Her husband smiled ruefully at the girl, then looked back to his wife. ‘‘So the rumors are true? The Valley is destroyed? But how?’’

‘‘Dragons,’’ Venus said gravely. ‘‘The Valley is theirs now. What’s left of it, anyway.’’

‘‘You saw them?’’ Jayq asked.

‘‘Not exactly. For the moment our only eyewitness is Sativa. She is prepared to speak before the Council. As am I.’’

Her husband opened his mouth slightly to say something, but then thought better of it. ‘‘The Council will be eager to hear what Sativa has to say,’’ he finally said. ‘‘Once word of your arrival reaches the ears of the Navarchy, they will want to convene the Council as soon as they can.’’

Good, Venus thought. The sooner the meeting had come and gone, the sooner she and Jayq could be together.

‘‘I had better return to the tower to get things ready,’’ Jayq said, snapping Venus out of her reverie.

‘‘We will join you,’’ said Venus.

‘‘I would be honored,’’ Jayq said, smiling.

Venus walked behind Jayq’s chair and grabbed the wooden handles on its frame. She wheeled him around and, together with Sativa, they walked around the circular quay and onto the cobblestone streets of Woebetide. As the trio trundled through the town, Jayq gave Sativa a lesson in the politics of the Commonwealth.

‘‘…The Commonwealth of Pyrates is governed by two institutions: the Council of Captains and the Navarchy. The Council of Captains is the main decision-making body of the Commonwealth. It is where all the pyrate captains come together to decide on solutions to problems without resorting to bloodshed. Every captain of a ship who is present at the Council has a right to participate in it. Captains can voice their opinions and vote on the policies of the Navarchy. The Council of Navarchs, also known as the Navarchy, is a council of eleven pyrates that leads the Commonwealth, proposing policies and commanding its combined forces. Whilst the office of Navarch is open to all captains, only the richest and most powerful captains have sufficient gold to spend on buying votes. Sativa, today the destruction of the Valley will be squarely on the Council’s agenda. Both the captains and the Navarchs will be eager to hear what you and Venus saw. It would be wise to give them the information they seek.’’

‘‘I will try,’’ Sativa said meekly.

A bell tolled in the distance.

‘‘What is that?’’ Sativa asked, startled.

‘‘Nothing to fear,’’ said Jayq. ‘‘Listen out for the number of bells.’’

The bell tolled a second time.

‘‘Three bells means that the Council will convene…’’

The bell tolled a third time.

‘‘…in one hour.’’

Venus stopped pushing Jayq’s chair. For a moment they stood still, waiting to hear if the bell would ring again. It didn’t.

‘‘We now have one hour until the Council begins, which means I need to be there in half an hour. There is still quite a bit of preparation to do.’’

Venus’s heart was bursting with pride for her husband. Despite his injuries, he had not allowed himself to wallow in despair, but had instead offered his services to the Council as an administrator. As with all things he set his mind to, Jayq excelled in this position.

After winding their way uphill through several more laneways, the trio arrived at busy Tower Square. The Great Tower, the place where the Council of Captains was held, stood ominously before them.

‘‘Now it is time for me to go and prepare,’’ said Jayq. ‘‘Best of luck.’’

Jayq propelled himself forward towards the Tower’s great oaken doors. Several others also began making their way into the Tower. Sativa went to follow them, but Venus stopped her.

‘‘It’s still early. I would rather we didn’t go in yet. Word has probably already spread about who you are and what you have seen, and there’s only so many questions I can take. We will come back closer to the start time. Come, there’s more I want to show you.’’

Venus led Sativa through another series of streets, showing her the oldest and grandest stone mansions in the city. They lingered for a while in the garment quarter, where Sativa marveled at the range of exotic styles and fabrics on offer. As they walked, Venus could see clouds the color of oysters beginning to close in above them. By the time they returned to Tower Square, the trickle of people into the tower had become a torrent. A cavalcade of captains, each dressed more flamboyantly than the last, slowly made their way through the tower’s doors and into the council chamber, while around the edges of the square, merchants began setting up their stalls, hoping to sell their wares to the captains when they came out again. Venus grabbed Sativa’s hand as they joined the throng. The crowd spirited them through the tower’s antechamber and into a vast hemispherical room. The curved edge of the room consisted of an amphitheater, with rows of stone benches rising steadily higher towards the ceiling. Running along the straight wall of the room was a two-tiered wooden dais. On the upper tier were eleven carved chairs, one for each of the Navarchs. On the lower tier were more chairs for administrators and clerical staff, as well as a series of benches piled comically high with parchments recording accounts, inventories and agendas of past councils. Venus looked for her husband, and spotted him showing a blonde woman some information on a piece of parchment. Venus and Sativa sat on a bench two rows back from the floor. After a few minutes of waiting, the Navarchs, resplendent in their plumed hats and robes of office, mounted the stage and, one by one, began to take their seats. The voices of the captains in the amphitheater started to subside. She watched as Jayq wheeled around to face the assembly, a scroll of parchment held tightly in his hand, and steeled herself for the trials ahead.

‘‘Silence!’’ Jayq boomed. ‘‘This Council is now in session’’. He looked down at his parchment. ‘‘The first item on today’s agenda is the destruction of the Valley of Karponesse. Preliminary reports from the flotilla that reconnoitered the Valley found it a smoldering ruin, and claim the Valley was attacked by dragons.’’

Venus heard the captains murmuring amongst themselves. This news would have been of great concern to them. The captains had believed that with the fleet of Karponesse finally destroyed, the way was open for them to plunder the Valley, one of the brightest jewels of the Archipelago. Now, their great prize seemed to have been snatched right out from under the Commonwealth’s nose.

‘‘Present at today’s Council is Captain Venus Sable, captain of the Anadyomene and leader of the expedition to Karponesse. She is joined by Sativa, one of the survivors and witnesses of the Valley’s destruction. Captain Sable, the Navarchy invites you to speak. The floor is yours.’’

Venus felt the eyes of the entire room upon her. She rose to her feet and walked briskly to the center of the amphitheater. She felt unsteady on her feet, as if on the deck of her ship in a storm, and hoped that no one would notice. Sativa followed closely behind her. She stopped in the center of the room, facing the Navarchy, and inclined her head as a show of respect. ‘‘Thank you, lord captains’’, she said solemnly, hoping they did not detect the slight quiver in her voice. Venus then turned to face the rest of her comrades. ‘‘My friends, I stand before you having borne witness to a calamity of unimaginable proportions. Dragons have laid waste to the Valley of Karponesse. The air is filled with the smell of smoke. Tendrils of thick black smoke rise like higher than mountains and into the sky, blocking the sunlight. The river is awash with flotsam and the charred corpses of the slain…’’

‘‘How many dragons did you see? How big were they?’’ asked Navarch Pelhame.

‘‘I…didn’t see any dragons,’’ Venus replied, turning to face her. ‘‘Only Sativa did’’.

‘‘How much damage had the dragons wrought upon the Valley’s capital?’’

‘‘We weren’t able to enter the Valley. The Karponesians lowered a boom across the river. We went as far as we could. From our position all I could see were plumes of smoke on the horizon. Beyond the boom the river was choked with the splintered shells of ships that crashed into the boom trying to flee. Sativa is the only survivor we could find, clinging to a rock just beyond the river mouth. She is our best hope of knowing what has happened in the Valley. Of what we are truly up against. She…’’

Navarch Pelhame raised her hand. Captain of the aptly named Contemnor, Pelhame often showed as much contempt for her allies as for her enemies. ‘‘Captain Sable, I confess I am disappointed with your evidence so far. You come to us with claims of dragons destroying the Valley, yet you have no direct evidence to support your claim.’’

‘‘My lord, the Valley is on an island ringed with mountains. The only way in and out is by sea. With the boom still in place, no ship could have passed through. In their panic, even the Karponesians themselves could not escape. The only other way the island could have come under attack was by air.’’

‘‘Not so, Captain. The Karponesians themselves may have revolted upon learning of their fleet’s defeat. Those who tried to flee may have been the unwitting targets of the rebels’ wrath.’’

‘‘And yet the Karponesians did not learn that they had lost their fleet until after the dragons descended upon them. Sativa asked me about the fate of their fleet when I rescued her.’’

‘‘So she says. But the woman is a Karponesian herself. I am open to persuasion, but based on what I have heard so far, I am not satisfied the Valley is overrun with dragons. The woman means for us not to sail there. Her claim of dragons is a ploy to stop us from sailing there to claim what’s rightfully ours. The boom is a problem, true, but in the end it will be no match for our fire ships. Nothing will stop us from claiming the Valley of riches that lies beyond.’’

Murmurs of assent rippled through the crowd.

‘‘With respect, my lord, if you saw what I have seen with your own eyes, you would know that the Valley is already lost. To sail there is folly.’’

‘‘As far as I am concerned, Captain Sable, after everything this Commonwealth has endured, it would be folly not too. For the Common wealth!’’

‘‘For the Common wealth!’’ the roar of the captains was overwhelming. Venus heard the captains and despaired. If it went to a vote, the course proposed by Navarch Pelhame would win decisively.

‘‘I would like to say something,’’ a voice next to Venus said. If Sativa was nervous, she did not sound like it. Amidst the cacophony of cheers and excited murmurs about the riches that awaited them, Sativa’s voice was almost lost in the din. Almost.

‘‘I would like to say something,’’ Sativa repeated forcefully. Venus not only heard the voice through her ears, she felt it inside her. Sativa’s voice vibrated in her skull, in her chest, and rippled through her skin like a pebble disturbing a pond. A voice of power, Venus thought. The rest of the chamber had felt it too, she surmised, as the cheers and whispers swiftly dissipated.

‘‘You are making a grave mistake,’’ Sativa warned, not waiting for Jayq or the Navarchs to grant her leave to speak. ‘‘You should have listened to Captain Sable. I came here to see what your intentions were. To see whether you would leave us be, or whether your greed for gold would be too great. I have my answer. Now heed my warning. The Valley belongs to the dragons now. It would be unwise for you to sail for Karponesse. You wanted to use me for information? To help you take the treasure for yourselves? Here is some information for you. The Valley is now home to a hundred dragons, each bigger than the last. Most of them are as large as the Anadyomene, and their wings are the size of its sails. Many of them are larger still. Sail to the Valley, and you will be set upon by Thermidor, whose breath burns so hot it will turn even your bones to ash, by Smylax, a man-eater with an insatiable appetite for human flesh, by Braerys, He Who Bring the Storm, the dragon who can create a hurricane with the flap of his wings. Each dragon is its own army, and scores more dragons await you. Sail to the Valley, and you will be blown away like ashes in the wind. The Valley is ours now. Woe betide any who come to claim it.’’

‘‘I knew it!’’ Navarch Pelham cried. ‘‘Seize her!’’

Venus moved aside and watched on as a dozen pyrates sitting in the lower levels of the amphitheatre leapt over their benches and advanced on Sativa with swords drawn. Sativa’s smiled gleefully, and her hazel eyes flashed with fire. As the pyrates came within reach, Sativa opened her mouth for what Venus thought would be a scream. What came out instead was an ear-splitting roar. Suddenly, the room was illuminated in a brilliant white light, causing Venus to avert her gaze. When her sight returned, Venus looked for Sativa in the room’s center. What she saw there instead filled her with terror. The place where Sativa last stood was filled with an enormous, golden dragon. The dragon roared triumphantly, before releasing a jet of bright yellow flame at her assailants. Too shocked to move, the pyrates closest to her were incinerated instantly. She looked around and, spotting Venus, released a torrent of fire. Venus, who had by now put as much distance between herself and the dragon as possible, leapt behind the stone barricade separating the first row of seats from the floor of the amphitheater. Having overcome their initial shock, the pyrates drew their weapons and engaged the dragon in earnest. The chamber erupted with the sound of flintlock pistols firing, the roars of the dragon and the screams of the dying. The chamber filled with the smell and smoke of gunpowder.

In the chaos, Venus spotted Jayq on the dais. ‘‘Jayq, get down from there!’’ she yelled in desperation. By some miracle, Jayq was able to hear her. He looked at her and blew her a kiss, before raising his flintlock pistol and firing at the side of the dragon’s head. The dragon roared in agony, and turned to look for the source of the projectile. Suddenly struck by the enormity of the danger before him, Jayq tried to wheel himself off the dais as fast as he could. But the dragon’s fire was faster. Venus watched on helplessly as her husband’s clothes, hair and chair all burst into flame. She saw his hair and eyebrows start to burn, and orange and yellow flames dance across his skin. Venus ran to be with Jayq, to help him put out the flames, but he was dead before she could reach him. The dais had become a pyre.

The dragon surveyed the chamber, searching for more people to burn. Venus crouched a short distance from the pyre, desperately hoping to avoid the dragon's gaze. She watched as fierce flames leapt up towards the ceiling, burning so hot they scorched the surrounding stone. The piles of parchment recording decades of history were ignited like giant candles in the blink of an eye, their flickering flames reflected in the dragon's saffron-colored scales. The heat of the burning dais was overwhelming. Seeing that those who were not yet dead had mostly fled, the dragon prowled, cat-like, into the antechamber, burning those who had been too slow to flee. Venus, mad with grief, ran after her. Ahead of them, Venus could see the tower’s great oaken doors were closed. The dragon launched a stream of fire at the great doors, melting their huge iron hinges, before bursting through the burning doors at speed. Coming into Tower Square, the dragon saw that it was ringed with market stalls, and promptly set them all on fire, cooking the goods and their sellers alike.

Satisfied with the destruction she had wrought, and weary of being stung by the bees from the pyrates’ flintlock pistols, the dragon ran a short distance down the hill and launched herself into the air. Once she was above the stony houses, she gave her wings a great flap. Venus watched, transfixed, as the golden dragon rose higher and higher until it disappeared above the creamy, golden clouds.