Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the first chapter of a wonderful story from Belladonna Rose, entitled

Black Rose Chronicles

Background music by Smartsound

Chapter 1

The skies grew dark as the ship headed into rough seas. Salt spray grew in intensity

and the sails furled and flapped with every gust. Even for a seasoned crew it was obvious

they were a bit more tense than usual. There seemed to be a strange form of energy in the

wind and on the sea.

The captain manned the wheel as usual with Jack at her side. He noticed that the captain

was having a rough time holding the ship steady. But the waves were growing stronger every

minute. The clouds were growing darker making the midday sky look almost that of midnight.

Nary a soul on board said a word but continued to do their jobs. None would balk at the Captain

because of bad weather. If the Captain stayed strong so would they.

Huge waves washed over the deck and one particular one reached high enough to splash

at Jack and the Captain. Shaking off the water Jack reached to take the wheel.

“My Lady….pray let me take the helm. These waters are rougher than usual. None of which

we have seen in a long time.”

Giving Jack a terse look she shrugged him away. Chin up she watched the horizon that was

slowly disappearing in the darkest clouds she had ever seen. She knew Jack was right. The days

of gentle trade winds had come to pass as had the sun. She felt deep in her gut that this was not

right and they were definitely heading into trouble.

As time passed the crashing waves had gained strength and she was starting to waiver her hold

on the wheel. Again Jack bade her to let him have the wheel. Aching muscles and fatigue won out

and she stepped aside once he got hold of the spokes of the wheel. She remained at his side though.

There was no way she was going to leave the deck. She would never let the crew see how worried

she was.

Pulling her compass out of her pocket she held it out. The pointer was going crazy. Spinning

in one direction then the other. This made no sense. She herself plotted this course as she had

done so many times. They all knew this route blindfolded. But this weather was just too strange.

One of the crew yelled down from the crow’s nest but it was hard to hear him over the wailing wind that was blowing. All she could do was look in the direction he was pointing. And there it was. A huge spinning vortex just at the sea horizon. This was something she had only heard about from other sailors and captains. Usually over many pints at local seaport pubs. She never thought she would ever be witness to it herself.

Immediately she grabbed the wheel from Jack and started trying to turn the ship around away from the blue glowing entity. There was no way she was gonna let that thing swallow her ship and crew. The wheel seemed to have a mind of its own though. No matter how hard she and Jack tried the ship was heading straight for the vortex. She called out commands for the crew to man the sails, but they fell on deaf ears. No one could hear her commands. Many, however, jumped to action. Seasoned sailors were good at predicting what the captain would command and this crew was one of the best.

Try as they might the sails were not cooperating with the crew. Just like the wheel. Almost as if the vortex was commanding the ship instead of her. Gripping the wheel harder she tried her best to steer the ship away but there was nothing for it. The Black Rose was no longer under her control and there was nothing she could do about it.

As if by magic or whatever the ship steered straight at the vortex and the all the crew an...