The Valkyrie chronicles

On the high seas, the small crew of the Valkyrie sail. The seas were calm. Making Thalia job easier.

Thalia: "Oi it's a calm day isn't it Tali?"

Tali: "aye captain! Though that's what I fear most."

Tali scans the empty seas. Nothing but deep dark water and a few small islands.

Thalia: "you worry too much tali. We been through hell of waters before." She laughs.

Tali shakes her head. Recalling all the close calls they had in the past.

Somewhere on the deck, was Nova. She was doing her usual routine check of all the cannons and explosives.

Nova: "you go here little cannon." She pushes the cannon into place before hugging it.

Nova: "you might go boom today mr. Cannon!" She giggled, before marching proudly to pick up a crate of explosive gun powder.

Nova: "I better get this below deck..." She carried the gunpowder past the mast to the crow’s nest

Up top in the crow's nest was Pip Squeak. Paying close attention to her surroundings.

She loved the salty air and the peaceful days up top the crow's nest.

Pip Squeak noticed something moving near one of the islands. A ship, and not just any ship: a Royal Navy frigate.

Pip Squeak frantically flailed her arms, tied a rope around her telescope, and dropped it to tap Nova, pointing toward the approaching Royal Navy ship, cheeks puffed in frustration.

Nova looked up, as she felt the telescope whopped her in the back.

Nova: "hey watch it you little trouble maker!" She teased, but noticed something wrong with how pip squeak was acting.

Nova spotted the trouble. "Oi! Why didn't you say something earlier?" Nova teased.

Pip Squeak lowered her head on the crow nest mast. Not from embarrassment, but aggravation.

Nova ran up to Thalia. "Captain, we got trouble in the waters." She pointed towards the Royal Navy Ship.

Tali: "I warned you captain."

Thalia: "Battle stations everyone! Nova prep the cannons! Tali prepare to board as soon as we can." She ordered.

Nova: "already did captain! My babies are loaded to go boom!" She giggled.

Tali ran below deck strapping on her flintlocks and cutlass. She quickly returned to Thalia side. Ready, whenever you are, captain!

Thalia: "We won't give them a chance to fire, alright!"

The Royal Navy Vessel approached. It was a small frigate class ship. At least 100 to 150 crew. And not counting the 20 to 30 cannons.

Tali: "this is not looking good captain!"

Thalia: "When have we let a bigger boat scare us? We disabled it quickly, before it blows us out of the water." She laughed.

Thalia steered the Valkyrie, swinging it around the royal navy ship. Causing waves to crash on the deck.

Thalia: "Fire!" she yelled, over the sound of waves

Nova: "on it captain!" Nova lit the cannons, watching them blast into the hull of the Royal Navy Ship. Blowing splinters everywhere. Smoke concealing their presence for a quick minute.

The Royal Navy crew wasn't happy about the sudden attack. As their crew started positioning their cannons.

Tali: "I hope you have an idea captain!" She gripped the railing for support. As the Valkyrie rocked roughly as it passed through the debris.

Pip Squeak up top was waving directions to Thalia. As her bird eye view could see down on the royal ship. Noting which cannons were immediate danger.

With Pip Squeak's assistance, Thalia spun the ship around using the waves that were created between the ships to push the Royal Navy Vessel off course.

The Royal Navy rushed to fire. Majority of their shots pierced the sea. While the other cannon balls skimmed the Valkyrie, chipping at its old deck.

Nova took the opportunity to fire her cannons again. This time the Valkyrie was tilted up, so all the cannon balls hit the sails and main mast on the Royal Navy Ship. Snapping it down onto their deck.

The Royal Navy panicked… sailors ran for cover as their main sails collapsed.

Tali: "I guess I'm up?" Tali already grabbing a rope and tying it tight so she could swing aboard the Royal Navy Ship.

Thalia: "remember don't kill anyone, we're not murderers, we're pirates."

Tali: "I know captain..." she paused to take a deep breath before swinging aboard the Royal Navy Ship.

Nova was seen casually patting her cannons, praising them for their good work.

"Ahh! Still hot!" Nova giggled, carefully patting the cannons now.

Tali landed on the Royal Navy Ship. Cutting down any navy crew that tried to get in her way.

She was careful to only disable them not kill.

Tali: "ugh! Fine, I won't kill anyone."

Pip Squeak’s eyes narrowed. Something told her Nova wasn’t up to anything good below deck. Sure enough, Nova had already sneaked aboard the Royal Navy vessel with a case of explosives. Tali’s jaw dropped at the sight, and she dashed forward, shouting for everyone to clear out as the fuse sizzled.

Tali: "oh goddess! Everyone off the ship! Swim to the islands if you want to survive!"

Tali ran down below deck to try and stop Nova. But it was too late she already lit the fuse.

Nova turned to Tali. "Oh hi, i wanted to see the ship go boom!" She giggled.

Tali grabbed Nova! "Idiot I'm on this ship! Along with a 100+ navy crew!"

Nova: "Oops, got a bit carried away!" she shrugged, figured they'd be off before it blew.*

That's when they both heard someone below deck with them.

Tali stepped around the corner noticing a jail cell with a {{user}} in it.

The mystery person, was curled in the back of the cell, half eaten food and spilled liquid on the wooden boards

Tali: "bloody hell Nova! Did you not check before trying something stupid!" she slapped Nova in the back of her head.

Nova: "Ow! Its not my fault they're a prisoner."

Tali: Whatever, lets just get them out."

Tali pulled out her flintlock and shot the lock off. "Come on! You can join us until we figure out who you are."

Tali pulls {{user}} up, dragging them and Nova above deck.

The Royal Navy Ship was deserted now. Its crew swimming away in the water. Heading for the nearby islands.

Tali held on to the mystery person as they swung over to the Valkyrie. Nova following on her own rope.

Tali: "Go! We're all clear!"

Thalia pulling away just in time as the royal navy ship exploded. Filling the air and sea with scraps.

Thalia approached Tali. "Whose this?"

Tali: "a prisoner off the Royal Navy Ship, I thought you like to speak to them."

Thalia: "speak! What's your name? And why were you on that vessel? she crossed her arms, waiting for your response.

Part 2 — The Silent Signal

Night wrapped the Valkyrie in a heavy stillness.

The ship rocked gently near the island, its dark silhouette barely visible against the moonlit sea. Lanterns had been dimmed. Sails slack. Even Nova’s cannons were quiet for once.

Up in the crow’s nest, Pip Squeak was awake.

She always was.

The island unsettled her. Not because it looked dangerous—but because it didn’t. Its shoreline was smooth, untouched, its jungle too still, as if the land itself was holding its breath.

That was when she saw them. Shadows moved where shadows shouldn’t. White cloth. Polished metal catching the moonlight for just a heartbeat too long.

They climbed the side of the Valkyrie with practiced silence, boots never scraping, hands never slipping.

Templars.

Pip Squeak’s breath hitched. She scanned the deck below. Thalia was asleep at the helm. Tali rested with one arm draped over her weapons. Nova—somewhere below deck, no doubt surrounded by explosives she shouldn’t be hugging in her sleep.

No time.

The figures were already reaching her. Pip Squeak didn’t scream. She didn’t thrash. She knew better.

Instead, she reached for her telescope. Her favorite one.

With careful hands, she loosened her grip and let it fall.

It clattered loudly against the deck below—far louder than anything else that night.

A hand seized her arm.

She was lifted, carried, the world spinning as the crow’s nest vanished beneath her. As the Valkyrie pulled away in her vision, Pip Squeak fixed her eyes on the spot where the telescope had landed.

Please notice, she thought.

Morning came too quietly.

Thalia was the first to wake.

She felt it before she saw it—the wrongness. The ship was intact. No damage. No blood. No signs of a fight.

But the air felt… empty.

“Pip?” Thalia called.

No answer.

Tali was on her feet instantly. “She’s always up first.”

Nova climbed out from below deck, rubbing her eyes. “Did she fall asleep somewhere weird again?”

Then Thalia saw it.

The telescope.

Lying on the deck, its lens cracked, rope still loosely tied around it.

Thalia’s expression hardened.

“That doesn’t happen by accident,” she said quietly.

They searched the ship. Below deck. The mast. The rigging.

Nothing.

Pip Squeak was gone.

Tali swore under her breath, gripping the railing so hard her knuckles whitened.

Nova’s usual grin was gone, replaced with something tight and shaky.

Then Thalia looked toward the island. White figures stood along the shoreline.

And between them— Pip Squeak.

Her hands were bound, but her posture was defiant. Even from this distance, she wasn’t crying. She wasn’t struggling.

She was watching.

“They took her,” Tali growled.

Nova’s voice cracked. “They took Pip.”

Thalia’s jaw clenched. “Templars.”

As if summoned by the word, one of the armored figures stepped forward, raising something that caught the sunlight.

A jewel.

It pulsed faintly, casting pale reflections across the sand.

The templar pointed toward the island’s interior—toward stone ruins half-buried in vines and shadow.

“They think she knows something,” Nova whispered.

On the shore, a templar spoke sharply to Pip Squeak.

She didn’t answer.

Another demanded again, louder this time.

Still nothing.

Confusion rippled through their ranks. Frustration followed. They gestured, argued, shoved the jewel closer to her face as if expecting it to force words from her mouth.

Pip Squeak shook her head.

Not because she didn’t understand.

But because she refused.

The jewel flickered faintly in response, reacting to her presence in a way the templars clearly hadn’t expected.

Thalia’s eyes narrowed.

“They don’t know what they’ve taken,” she said.

Tali drew her blades with a sharp click. “Then we take her back.”

Nova smiled—slow, dangerous, and very fond of explosions.

“And maybe we take the island with us.”

On the shore, Pip Squeak’s gaze lifted—just slightly.

Straight toward the Valkyrie.

She knew they were coming.

Part 3 — Boom… Wait, Is That a Seal?

The island was going to explode. That much was certain.

Nova stood on the deck of the Valkyrie, hands on her hips, goggles slightly crooked, staring proudly at the distant island as faint sparks crawled along the ground like glowing ants.

“Perfect placement,” she said happily.

“Timed charges. Layered blasts. Beautiful symmetry.”

Thalia squinted through a spyglass. “You’re sure the island is deserted?”

Nova waved a hand. “Totally. I checked for nests, tracks, burrows—nothing! Just rocks, trees, and extremely flammable underbrush.”

Tali crossed her arms. “I don’t like how confident you sound.”

The first low rumble rolled across the sea. Pebbles slid down the island’s cliffs. Birds—actual birds—suddenly burst from the treeline, screaming into the air.

Nova blinked. “…Huh.”

Then—

A small, wet pop near the shoreline.

Something dark and round surfaced in the water.

Two big eyes. Tiny whiskers. A very confused—

“…Seal,” Nova whispered.

The baby seal squeaked.

Nova froze.

The fuse crackled louder.

The island rumbled again.

“Oh no,” Nova said softly.

“Oh no no no no no.”

Thalia lowered the spyglass. “Nova.”

“That is a BABY,” Nova shouted, already scrambling for ropes. “A BABY baby! Look at its face! It doesn’t even know what explosions ARE!”

Tali stared. “You blew up an island with a baby seal on it?”

“I DIDN’T MEAN TO,” Nova yelled back. “I thought it was a rock seal! Or… a seal-shaped rock!”

The seal squeaked again, paddling in tiny, useless circles.

The first explosion timer clicked.

Nova grabbed a rope and tied it around her waist. “Turn the ship. NOW.”

Thalia didn’t argue. “All hands!”

The Valkyrie surged forward as smoke began curling up from the island’s center.

Tali leaned over the railing. “You have about a minute before the whole place goes!”

Nova didn’t hesitate. She jumped.

She hit the water hard, goggles askew, kicking like mad toward the seal.

“It’s okay!” she shouted, swimming one-handed. “You’re safe! I mean—you will be safe! Please don’t be scared of loud noises!

I’m also loud!”

The seal squeaked. Louder.

Behind her, the island erupted—a deep explosion tearing through the jungle, sending fire and debris skyward.

“FASTER,” Tali yelled.

Nova reached the seal just as another charge detonated, the shockwave tossing them both.

She wrapped her arms around the tiny, slippery body and held it tight.

“I got you! I GOT YOU!”

The Valkyrie pulled hard on the rope. Nova and the seal were yanked from the water just as the island collapsed in a roaring chain of explosions—trees, rock, and fire vanishing into smoke and sea.

They slammed onto the deck.

Silence.

Then—

The seal sneezed.

Nova stared at it.

It stared back.

She burst into tears. “You’re ALIVE.”

The seal squeaked and crawled into her lap.

Nova hugged it instantly. “I’m so sorry I tried to explode your house. I will build you a BETTER house. With FISH.”

Thalia exhaled slowly. “We nearly died.”

Tali shook her head. “For a seal.”

Nova looked up, holding the baby close. “Look at him.”

A beat.

Tali sighed. “…Okay, yeah. Worth it.”

Nova grinned, already rummaging for blankets. “I’m naming him Boomless.”

The seal squeaked happily.

Far behind them, the sea settled where an island used to be.

And Nova—explosives expert, menace to geography—sat cross-legged on deck, gently rocking a baby seal like it was the most precious thing in the world.

“No more blowing things up today,” she promised.

The crew exchanged looks.

They didn’t believe her for a second. 🦭💥

Part 4 — Tali and the Ghost Ship

The sun was low, painting the horizon in streaks of orange and gold. The Valkyrie cut through calm waters, sails taut and proud against the evening breeze. Tali leaned against the railing, eyes scanning the waves. Something about the calm unsettled her.

“Too quiet,” she muttered, gripping her cutlass tighter.

Thalia glanced over the wheel. “You worry too much, Tali. Not every shadow’s out to get us.”

Tali didn’t answer. Her gaze was fixed on a shape drifting in the distance—a ship unlike any she had ever seen. Its hull was dark, slick as if wet with shadow, sails tattered but shimmering faintly with a silvery glow. Smoke—or mist—rose from it in slow, curling tendrils.

“Captain…” Tali said, voice low but tense. “We’ve got a problem. And I don’t think it’s just another ship.”

Thalia followed her gaze, frowning. “Let’s take a closer look, but be careful. Something about that vessel…”

The closer they drew, the stranger it became. Figures moved on deck, but they weren’t alive. Skeletons in tattered uniforms, translucent shapes floating, faces twisted in hollow expressions. The ship itself seemed alive, creaking and moaning as though it breathed.

And then Tali saw it—a single, living figure, huddled near the bow.

“No…” she whispered. Someone was alive. Just one.

Thalia’s eyes narrowed. “Pull alongside carefully. And stay sharp.”

The Valkyrie glided next to the ghostly vessel. Tali leapt onto the deck, boots clanging against wood that shivered under her weight. The undead crew barely reacted, moving in eerie, automatic motions as if following orders no longer their own.

Tali reached the living person—a young sailor, wide-eyed, trembling. “Hey,” she said, her voice firm and steady. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”

The figure’s eyes darted around at the skeletal crew, lips trembling. Tali knew she had to act fast.

Above deck, a pale wind howled. The ship groaned as if warning them to leave. Tali swung her cutlass, fending off skeletons that came too close, guiding the survivor toward a rope ladder back to the Valkyrie.

“Keep moving!” she shouted, dodging a ghostly arm reaching for her. “We’re getting you off this cursed vessel!”

The closer they got to the Valkyrie, the more the ship seemed to fight them, tilting, groaning, and shuddering as if it wanted to claim its living prize. Tali kept moving, heart pounding, every step precise, every swing of her blade measured.

Finally, they reached the rope. The survivor grabbed on. Tali gave a strong tug. “Hold on tight!”

Together, they swung back to the Valkyrie. Tali pulled the survivor aboard, dropping to the deck as the ghost ship groaned and shivered behind them. She glanced back. The vessel floated silently now, empty except for the undead crew, drifting toward the horizon like a ship of lost souls.

Thalia approached, eyes wide. “What… was that?”

Tali held the survivor close, letting them catch their breath. “A ship that doesn’t belong to this world. It delivers lost souls to the afterlife… and somehow, this one ended up alive on board. We saved them… but we need to be careful. Things like this don’t let go easily.”

The Valkyrie sailed on, its crew quiet, glancing at the horizon where the ghost ship disappeared. Tali’s eyes lingered on the fading silhouette. One living soul among the dead. One life saved.

And she would make sure no one else ever got trapped like that.

...

On the high seas, the small crew of the Valkyrie sail. The seas were calm. Making Thalia job easier.

Thalia: "Oi it's a calm day isn't it Tali?"

Tali: "aye captain! Though that's what I fear most."

Tali scans the empty seas. Nothing but deep dark water and a few small islands.

Thalia: "you worry too much tali. We been through hell of waters before." She laughs.

Tali shakes her head. Recalling all the close calls they had in the past.

Somewhere on the deck, was Nova. She was doing her usual routine check of all the cannons and explosives.

Nova: "you go here little cannon." She pushes the cannon into place before hugging it.

Nova: "you might go boom today mr. Cannon!" She giggled, before marching proudly to pick up a crate of explosive gun powder.

Nova: "I better get this below deck..." She carried the gunpowder past the mast to the crow’s nest

Up top in the crow's nest was Pip Squeak. Paying close attention to her surroundings.

She loved the salty air and the peaceful days up top the crow's nest.

Pip Squeak noticed something moving near one of the islands. A ship, and not just any ship: a Royal Navy frigate.

Pip Squeak frantically flailed her arms, tied a rope around her telescope, and dropped it to tap Nova, pointing toward the approaching Royal Navy ship, cheeks puffed in frustration.

Nova looked up, as she felt the telescope whopped her in the back.

Nova: "hey watch it you little trouble maker!" She teased, but noticed something wrong with how pip squeak was acting.

Nova spotted the trouble. "Oi! Why didn't you say something earlier?" Nova teased.

Pip Squeak lowered her head on the crow nest mast. Not from embarrassment, but aggravation.

Nova ran up to Thalia. "Captain, we got trouble in the waters." She pointed towards the Royal Navy Ship.

Tali: "I warned you captain."

Thalia: "Battle stations everyone! Nova prep the cannons! Tali prepare to board as soon as we can." She ordered.

Nova: "already did captain! My babies are loaded to go boom!" She giggled.

Tali ran below deck strapping on her flintlocks and cutlass. She quickly returned to Thalia side. Ready, whenever you are, captain!

Thalia: "We won't give them a chance to fire, alright!"

The Royal Navy Vessel approached. It was a small frigate class ship. At least 100 to 150 crew. And not counting the 20 to 30 cannons.

Tali: "this is not looking good captain!"