#loz dazel nohansen

[serotoninwriteson]

Leave Me Your Wake - Prologue and Chapter 1

Leave Me Your Wake

Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Ganondorf/Tetra’s Mother

~

If you’ll be my boat, I’ll be your sea, The depths of pure blue just to prove curiosities. Ebbing and flowing and pushed by a breeze, I live to make you free. I live to make you free.

But you can set sail to the west if you want to And past the horizon, ‘til I can’t even see you, Far from here where the beaches are wide. Just leave me your wake to remember you by.

“Boats and Birds” by Gregory & the Hawk

~

To my darling daughter Tetra, who has yet to be born, I dedicate this journal so that you may remember your mother loves you and that your father is never too far away.

Sincerely Dazel Nohansen

~

Captain’s Log Day X of the Helmaroc Month, Year XX

My crew tells me of strange rumors that put my nerves on end. Townsfolk of Windfall state there is a more fearsome pirate crew than my own, and have admitted feeling relieved when they see its “only me”.

I admit I have dedicated myself to being a pirate who others can rely on, for work or errands or faith. It should not come as a surprise to me that this leads to naïveté and foolishness, though the fact still irks me to no end.

They say the crew takes up residence at the Forsaken Fortress in the northwestern part of the Great Sea. Today we set sail from Windfall. They won’t know what hit them.

You should know better than to cross a pirate captain.

Captain Dazel Nohansen of The Fallen Goddess

~

It was part of the captain’s routine to make frequent entries in her diary so that, were anything to ever happen to her, her crew would have a way to see into her head, to know where they were to go next and what they ought to dedicate themselves to without her guidance. Today was no exception.

She returned her quill to its spot in the inkwell once her entry was finished and took a moment to read over the perfectly swirled cursive she’d just written.

By the time she’d written the entry, the crew had already begun their voyage to the Forsaken Fortress. Few pirates dared to head to the supposedly cursed isle, but Dazel was not afraid of some silly curse or any monsters foolish enough to attack her when she was armed with a gun or blade, let alone both. And she’d be damned if her crew showed any such cowardice.

She exhaled a sigh and shut the diary, stashing it away in a drawer, just in time to hear a knock on the door.

“Yes, come in,” she said, her tone stern if only because of her irritation.

The door creaked open and a child’s head poked its way inside. Gonzo. He couldn’t have been more than five when Dazel first found him, begging for food or rupees because he had none to his name. He had no family, so the captain raised him as her own child. He was reliable… for a boy who was now only seven.

“Captain,” he nodded his head in way of greeting her.

“Gonzo,” she said softly, now that she saw it was only him. “Is something wrong.”

“No, ma’am,” he said. “Got an announcement. Forsaken Fortress is in view.”

She stood and threw on her coat. “I see. I shall be out in just a minute. Make sure we don’t get too close, okay? We have no idea what those pirates have up their sleeves.”

She could only imagine. Cannons and grappling mechanics were inevitable, but there had been rumors the rival captain held the capability to use dark magic and command beasts. Dazel doubted it was true, but made sure to acknowledge the possibility anyways. A pirate captain always had to be prepared.

Dazel quickly checked her inventory. A sword, a gun, her pirate’s charm - this was likely all the captain needed to handle the rival crew and get a good look at the fortress.

She raised a hand to her neck, pulling on the leather to bring her necklace into view. It had been passed down her family for generations and could be used to talk to others from a distance. She found it fascinating, more unique than letters and with a wondrous sense of mystery regarding how it worked.

Satisfied, she smoothed out the wrinkles on her red and black coat and stepped onto the deck.

“Mako, Sanza - what’s the situation?” she called.

The two were part of her crew. The latter was just in late teens, or perhaps early twenties. Dazel never bothered asking, and he never bothered telling her. Mako was far older, older than everyone in her crew. He was a sort of father figure, even if he did like teasing everyone.

“Captain,” Sanza turned his attention to her. “We’ve spotted cannons mounted on the walls. They’d likely fire if we got too close.”

“The searchlights are also keeping an eye out for any unwanted visitors.” Mako cleaned his glasses on his shirt as he spoke.

“Then that leaves only one solution.” A grin spread across her tanned features.

“Captain...” Mako returned his glasses to his face and gave her a concerned look. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking what I think you are.”

She chuckled. “Nothing like the barrel trick. I trust you to follow my aim.”

They muttered grumbles of complaints. They should have known their feisty captain would willingly volunteer herself to scout out the fortress by herself. She was always stubborn like that, and admittedly a little foolhardy too.

But this was the best way. It would get her in without the guards noticing her or the searchlights catching sight of their ship. She wouldn’t have to deal with too many pirates, though she could handle any that came her way, and would easily get the answers she needed from the rival captain.

That brought up a question.

She glanced at Mako. “What was the captain’s name?”

He shook her head. “The villagers didn’t say. They don’t even know what he looks like.”

She spat at the ground. “Tch, typical. He’s probably just some know-it-all who thinks he’s tough. That just makes this so much easier.”

With that said, she helped ready the catapult for launch and crouched inside the barrel they planned to launch. Her hand was on the hilt of her blade. Her gun was conveniently tucked away in easy reach.

She eyed the fortress from a distance, taking note of a ledge that seemed to lead to the uppermost portion of the structure. There was no doubt in Dazel’s mind that the captain would be there.

“To the right… No, your other right! Good. Now up, up, up- STOP.”

Once Dazel was certain her aim was perfect, her grin spread wider.

“Ready. Set. Launch!”

As the captain commanded, the catapult sent her flying. She jumped out of the barrel as she reached the ledge, leaving the evidence to crash against the wall, splinter, and fall into the water below. Perfect. The guards wouldn’t notice a thing.

They likely didn’t even suspect a thing as the large wooden door before her was neither locked or guarded. She shrugged to herself.

“Amateurs,” she muttered, before letting herself inside, closing the door behind her as quietly as she could.

She turned around to see what was likely a prison in the castle. The barred off portions of the room would likely suggest that. But there were no prisoners in there nor any reason for Dazel to look their way.

Wooden platforms snaked up the wall, leading to an outdoor portion far before here. She took off in a sprint, easily scaling the platforms to the top.

Where a terrifyingly large bird was waiting.

“What in the blue depths is this?!” she demanded before she could stop herself.

The beast was covered in faded purple feathers, decorated by violet, white, and black wingtips and lengthy golden tailfeathers. A silver mask covered its face, but its glowing yellow eyes were on full display.

A trembling hand reached for her gun and was near ready to fire, when the monster picked her up, its onyx talons digging into her coat and carrying her away.

“Let me go this instant! Damn bird, you hear me?!”

It flew her to a cabin-like area nestled at the top of the fortress. As if sensing the bird had captured his prey, a portly man with skin far darker than her own stepped out onto the balcony.

The bird tilted its head, as if asking what to do with the captain of the Fallen Goddess. The man just smirked and motioned behind him. The bird flung her at the captain and she crashed into the wall, before crumpling on the ground. Her gun scattered away from her grip.

“Damn beast,” she muttered as she slowly sat up, raising a hand to her aching head. “Damn pirates.”

The man approached her slowly, hands on the golden hilts of his blades as if daring her to draw her weapons. She glared at him, taking in his fiery red mane and beard, as well as the robes with markings she’d only seen in books before.

Just who was this man? Other than someone far more capable that Dazel had predicted…

“And you are?”

“You may call Ganondorf. I am the leader of the crew you so desperately sought out.” He motioned to the inside room he’d been staying in before. “Could I interest you in a chat?”

Dazel grit her teeth. Seemed she didn’t have a choice either way.

“Make it quick.”