Wordcount: 551 words
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Summary: Please note, this is currently a very rough draft. There will be spelling and grammatical errors afoot as well as flat out bad writing, info dumps, plot holes, flat out contradictions, and uneven characterization and pacing. (Content is also subject to constant change as I take an editing chainsaw to the story.)
~*~*~*~*~
Two Beaches and the Blue Ships
The ships with dark blue sails came into port under cover of heavy fog and a thunderstorm. No one in Two Beaches noticed them slipping into harbor in the darkness and then swiftly moving from the big boats to shore in slim black skiffs and coal-darkened wings. The invading army snuck into the town, the winds and the thunder masking their scents and sounds. It was not until dawn, when the first of the fishermen awoke that the town found itself conquered without a fight.
At first the town did not realize it had been invaded. The army was dressed oddly, but humans and foxhawks were nothing new. It was not until they had all woken up that the true scope of the attack sank in. The fog lifted and the harbor was filled with deep blue sails and massive deep hulled ships that looked nothing like the trading ships that ran up and down the coasts.
The soldiers spoke in thick accents and the foxhawks spoke openly to everyone. The army was dressed in deep blue uniforms with black veils across their faces making it hard to tell one from another. After the town’s council formally turned in their surrender, the veils came off, making them more unique and less disturbing.
The captains of the fleet made quick work of getting the troops settled and making sure that their presence was as concealed as possible. The townsfolks had asked for and received quarter, although the invading army was mum about what they planned to do with the town.
When runners came in with news of the second storm, they were detained. There was confusion since the Army was coming in at an angle to the storms and there no one was sure still if the storms had been attacks.
The reaction of the fleet captains seemed to indicate that they were disappointed at the number of survivors and there was a hostile tone to the interactions between the townsfolk and some of the lower ranking soldiers. As if the town had been responsible for their survival.
Foxhawk scouts were sent out, flying high enough that the townsfolk could not see more than a speck. They looked like normal hawks, so small and so dark.
The scouts came back with news that the refugees were splitting up, some going to Pine Reach and a few were coming towards Two Beaches.
There was a heated discussion among the invading army and then with the town council. So far the army had been rather polite and quite honorable, but the town was not agreeable to working with them against their own countrymen.
It was decided to move the townsfolk out into the storm shelters carved into the rocks. They were made for the worst of the storms that sometimes hit and could shelter the entire population, while not comfortably, at least temporarily well.
There were a few abortive efforts to break free and warn the refugees, but they were caught by the foxhawks and were punished by confinement. For the most part it was the kids who had attempted to get free and the army was oddly forgiving of the attempts. The grownups were not sure the forgiveness would extend to adults, so they found other subtle ways of warning the incoming refugees.
~*~*~*~*~