Chapter Text
The air was hot and humid. It made Nikolai‘s shirt stick to his body like a second skin and his sandy hair was plastered to his forehead as if he had been swimming. With his machete, he cut himself a way through the thick jungle flora and wondered if exploring this part of the sea was the worst idea he’d ever had. His boat had shattered against the isle’s cliffs during a storm and he’d been stranded on it, no clue where the rest of his crew was. Perhaps also on the isle, or - well, he didn’t want to think about it. He couldn’t even see the sky, the trees were too high and dense and he was somewhat terrified what would happen when night locked its jaws around the isle. He had no idea what animals were living here and whether he‘d become prey or not.
But Nikolai was never someone who said no to a challenge or backed off because of a bit of uncertainty. After a day finding his way through the jungle, that felt like ages, he wanted to find a place to sleep. The next time the bush lightened itself a little, he decided to build his camp there. After an internal back and forth he pulled the hammock out of his backpack and knotted it high above the ground. He didn‘t want to risk any incidents with species similar to boars. Tomorrow he might have a better plan, than just waiting for a boat to pass by and maybe he could find his crew.
Thunder made the ground tremble and the heavy rain got through the thick leafy canopy, giving Nikolai a free shower. A moment later the jungle was suddenly enlightened and he could see a creature with slender legs running away, birds flying away and to his horror a huge wolf-like thing with silky fur. It was crouched on the ground, frozen in the movement due to the sudden light. Nikolai pulled out his dagger, knowing that it would be pretty fucking useless against the beast. As quick as the light came, it was gone. Sweat dripped down Nikolai’s neck and it wasn’t just humidity now. No, Nikolai was scared. And Saints forbid Nikolai Lantsov wasn’t scared often but dying alone on an isle and becoming the meal of a wolf wasn’t how he had planned for his life to end.
Nikolai threw his dagger in the direction of the thing and turned around to climb up the tree. Perhaps it couldn’t follow him up there and he’d be safe. However, the trunk was slippery and it took him a great effort to even keep the height he was at right now. Again a thunder rolled over the jungle and it almost shook him from the tree. At least the lighting would give him an overview of his possibilities to survive. The wolf was beneath the tree, burying his claws in the bark and trying to climb in its own way.
‘Unfair, it has claws’, Nikolai thought to himself and cursed as his hands slowly but steadily lost their grip. Bit for bit he was slumping down and with a hungry growl the beast bit after his feet.
The teeth brushed over Nikolai’s skin, making him want to scream and he made one last poor attempt to escape the situation. He failed and he was ready to feel the pain when the thing’s attention was directed somewhere else and a breath later its head was off its body.
Now he felt like it was perfectly adequate to scream and he did. He fell on the ground like a bag of flour but instantly got up and searched the dark for the source of the beheading. He gasped when he saw small thunderbolts dancing around something that seemed like a human. Again a lightning struck somewhere, apes yelled and a crack sounded, indicating that a tree was hit. But Nikolai didn’t actively hear it because the light gave him clear sight on what beheaded the wolf and he was bloody terrified.
Between the trees stood a beautiful woman with raven black hair, brown skin and dark eyes. She wore some sort of armour made out of a bluish metal and stared at Nikolai, spite written all over her face.
The adventurer didn’t stay, instead he once again ran away. This time not on a tree but blindly through the thicket, no matter where, just out of reach of the flash charming warrior. Leaves hit Nikolai’s face, branches got caught in his clothes and tore the fabric but he couldn’t care less. He didn’t dare to look over his shoulder, as if it would teleport the woman behind him. Internally he thanked every Saint for providing him with a good amount of stamina because he ran for a very long time without collapsing. Eventually the jungle began to thin out and it became easier to run but the ground got more sandy. Nikolai stopped abruptly and stared out on the beach in disbelief. He could not have been that fast, could he?
The sea resembled an angry horse bucking around, waves crashed high and foam made it seem like it had rabies. Single stones jutted out of the sand with gleaming surfaces due to the rain. Nikolai knew enough about how nature worked and didn’t go out on the beach to be hit by lightning but he also didn’t want to stay at the spot he was right now because the woman might come to find him. So he began to walk under the trees at the jungle limit and plan out his next steps. It quickly boiled down to one thing: survival. The question was how; Nikolai’s boat was destroyed, his remaining supplies were lost too now and even his clothes were tattered. Not to forget all the life threats wandering around on this isle.
“I love adventures and I’m always in for challenges”, he muttered to himself, “But this is just a tiny bit too much.”
Leastwise he outdistanced the storm woman who did him the favour to kill off the wolf, which was probably by accident. The relief was too early though and he might have jinxed his luck with it because in this moment he heard the characteristic cracking noise of electricity and the splash of leaves being pushed aside. Nikolai’s breathing became faster, he turned his face to the jungle, slowly going backwards and forgetting about the “Don’t be at the beach during a thunderstorm” rule. The woman emerged out of the covert, again tiny lightning revolving around her and she smiled condescendingly. It hurt Nikolai’s ego even though he had other things to worry about at the moment. In other regions he was well known and nobody would smile like that at Sturmhond. She lifted one of her hands, her fingers curled into a half-open fist and a violent gust hit him. His feet lost contact to the ground, for an instant he was hovering above the sand before he was thrown back and fell on his butt.
“Why are you here on Novokribirsk?”, she asks, her voice like a thunder’s grumble, “You have no place here.”
Nikolai’s mind was drawn to her but his body went in full defense mechanism and tried to get out of her reach. His silence angered her even more and she stepped closer to him, making him crawl backwards. Suddenly her eyes began to shine silver and she clapped her hands together and what happened next made Nikolai forget everything he ever learned in his life and an infant again. The moment her hands touched each other, a deafening crash sounded and a lightning broke through the dark clouds above the spot Nikolai was sitting. He was pretty sure this would be the end but the lightning split itself and smashed into the ground at the same time Nikolai was lifted by a wind.
“I’ll ask you one more time”, the woman growled, “Why are you here, Nikolai Lantsov, son of Ravka?”
If there was little doubt in Nikolai that he faced a goddess in the particular situation, it was erased by those words. He couldn’t say anything, all he brought out was: “Please show mercy to an extraordinary mortal.”
Her expression changed to irritation and she narrowed her eyes. Eager to prevent her from electrocuting him anyway he added: “My ship was smashed by the cliffs. I didn’t mean to disturb your divine privacy.”
“But you did. You shouldn’t even be able to find Novokribirsk. Only the gifted ones find their way here.”
“Well, I’ve been told to be special by many people.”
“Your cockiness is misplaced, Lantsov”, she stated, “Whether you're special or not will be determined by the Triumvirate.”
A light went on in Nikolai’s head when he heard Triumvirate. Piece by piece everything started to make sense and if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure if he’d liked the truth. The Triumvirate, as well as the Storm Witch and an isle undiscovered in the sea were part of a very old tale. Every Ravkan heard it at least once in their lifetime, the isle that was a gift from the saints to a group of Grisha, powerful individuals, to protect others like them. A refuge for the haunted and suffering people who could manipulate energy. Nikolai never really believed it, the Grisha were just another sweet tale he thought and yet he was lying in the sand, one of the most powerful beings in front of him. Zoya Nazyalensky the Storm Witch.
“Are they all true?”, Nikolai whispered, “Do they all exist? Alina Starkov the light bringer and Genya Safin the-”
He was cut off by a sharp hand movement of Zoya that sucked out the air of his lungs: “Ask your questions when you’re invited to do so.”
She lifted her arms again, this time Nikolai noticed the bracelet made out of scales around her wrists and the storm calmed itself like a child who got what it wanted. Rain was still falling heavily but no thunder or lightning disturbed it.
Still shocked that he encountered a practical goddess, Nikolai pinched himself but it wasn’t a dream. Zoya told him to follow and he got up, a bit shaky on his feet but he felt his usual enthusiasm coming back. Nikolai Lantsov was up for another adventure and would meet the fabled Triumvirate. That his life depended on their decision he didn’t really consider.