The Great Jewel

A world of piracy is also a world filled with lies, agony, and violence. Parents leaving their children just to pursue the dream of venturing the seas. And one of the victims of being left behind, Thomas Jack, an 18-year-old boy who lives in the island of Tulup in the sea of Koes. He for one is a son of an infamous pirate that has been terrorizing the seas for more than a decade now. That same father left Thomas alone, leaving him with just the words,

“I’ll wait for you.”

As if he was expecting a kid to aspire piracy when it was the sole reason he was left alone. Now 18, Thomas has lived independently, with the people of the town he lives in taking care of him since he was young. This is his story. This is the story of Thomas Jack.

Thomas is now sitting on top of the roof of the fish shop he works in. His striking blue eyes gazed upon the open sea. How vast it is and how mysterious it is as he looked at it. It was the same sea that drove his father to piracy. The sense of anticipation to set sail coursed through Thomas’ veins. He has worked as a fisherman in his hometown, and for eight years he has worked there. He was left alone when he was still seven and learned to live by himself by then. Thankfully, the residents of the town took pity of him and took him under their care, although he still has a house to live in at the edge of the town. And a simple question still bugs him to this day,

“What drove my father to sea?”

As he was spacing out a little, a voice called upon him,

“Tom! Get down there and help with our catch! Quit wasting time dozing off!” a bald fishmonger yelled.

It was Thomas’ boss.

“Okay!” Thomas replied as he jumped off the roof.

He then helped carrying the crates that contains loads of fish they’ve caught last night. It was a big night for them. They haven’t had a this quite many for a few months now. As Thomas stacked the fish at the back of the shop, the boss praised him,

“Good thing you were strong. If not, then we’ll collapse at the middle of this lifting.” The bald man laughed.

“Nonsense. I’ve trained my ass off during my days off just to help with your business.” Thomas replied.

As they placed the fishes on racks, the boss asked looked at this kid. His body is well-maintained and built, he’s as strong as a navy officer, and he’s always looking at the bright side of things. Despite being an orphan, he still finds ways to live.

“What are your plans, Tom?” asked the fishmonger.

“Huh? What do you mean plans? Do you mean plans after this? Well, I’m going home to rest a bit then train. After that, then I’ll head back to—”

“No, I mean your plans in life? Your potential just can’t be wasted here and be a simple fisherman. You need to go out and enjoy the endless possibilities of life, you know?” the bald boss pointed out.

And Thomas then realized. He turned 18 just yesterday, and yet, he has no solid plans for his life. He never really thought about it. He just went along with the flow and did his best as a fisherman.

“You know, Maria just got home from Navy training. She’s a full-pledged navy officer now! The first Lieutenant from our town! You two were childhood friends, right?”

Thomas remembered, it has been two years since Maria left. Maria was Thomas’ childhood friend, and together, they also caused mischief around town. To think that she became a navy officer just like she’s been dreaming of was outstanding.

Hours trickled and Thomas finally finished up his work. After closing up the shop, he went to their local pub to eat. As he entered, it was rowdy as always. Musicians blaring their instruments and people were just drinking and dancing.

“Hey, Ron, the usual please.” Thomas says as he sat by the counter.

As he waited for his order, an arm wrapped around his neck,

“Are you still a fisherman, idiot?” a familiar voice spoke.

When the arm was lifted Thomas turned around to see a beautiful woman. She has long curly blonde hair, tanned skin, and gray eyes. She was wearing a navy uniform and was grinning at him,

“Maria?! Oh, my!” Thomas jumped out of his seat and hugged his friend.

The two broke apart and sat besides each other by the counter,

“So, finished training, huh? How was it? Was it harsh or—”

“You should’ve tagged along if you were that serious. Anyway, it was hard, of course, no training is easy. But it was fun at the same time.” Maria pointed out.

Thomas chuckled, “Good for you. You got the dream you always bragged about. And now, I think I’m going to hear it nonstop from now on.”

“Idiot, I won’t be stationed here. I’ll be at the island to the west, Tilington, I was assigned there. Closer to home.”

As they talked, Thomas’ order then arrived with a mug of booze with it.

“How about you? You’re still a fisherman, yeah? You know, I can pull some strings so that you could be—”

“Maria, we’ve been through this, I don’t want to become a navy officer. I’m still thinking of what to do in my life. Besides, I’m way off the age requirement to enroll in the officer course!” Thomas laughed as he ate his steak.

Maria sighed, and then, all of a sudden, she placed a wanted poster on the table, and it says,

"WANTED!

DEAD OR ALIVE

EDWARD "THE TERROR" JACK

BOUNTY: 3,405,001,200 Pendz"

 And there was this detailed sketch of this man. He has a long beard and hair, he wears an eyepatch over his left eye, and he was smiling menacingly. Thomas’ blood boil. It was his father.

“Your father has been making waves again in the new world. Even the marines are on the move.” Maria says.

The marines are the elite unit of the navy. They are officers who are handpicked and specializes in combat. They are the ones who always gets deployed to fight powerful and notorious pirates. Thomas doesn’t know if Maria is doing this to piss him off or to encourage him more to join the navy.

“Look, Maria. I don’t know what you’re up to, but we both know the condition I bear. I have no Boon, and Boons are one of the requirements to become a navy officer.”

“You don’t need to be an officer. Be a soldier and then you can climb the ranks. That way, we’ll be—”

“Sorry, Maria. I have no intention in becoming the same as you. I need to think everything through. But still, thank you for always insisting the best for me.”

As time goes by, Thomas went home. At the edge of the town near a cliff, his house stood. He didn’t enter, instead, he went at the edge to see the beauty of the sea. It was calling for him, but he doesn’t know which path to take. He wants to question his father on why he left him. But he also wants to be with Maria. Since there was no way to answer his questions that quick, he went back to the port to go grab their fishing boat and he set sailed to fish and clear his mind.

It has been 5 hours since Thomas started fishing, and he has now caught more than he expected. It seems that he would come home earlier than expected, since even though this part of the sea has a lot of fish, it would take hours before he can catch a decent amount. But right now, it only took him at least 2 hours to fill up 4 crates of fish and other seafood. This was odd since it has never happened before, but he continued to fish and sat on his chair as he waits for the net to get full. As he sits, he was reading a newspaper under a lamp of this big boat. Piracy has skyrocketed significantly this year, and the navy is having hard time containing them in their respected seas. Because in this world, there are 6 seas. And these are the Arco, Pendum, Linp, Pilq, Kratel and then the sea on where Thomas lives, the Koes. The navy are trying to contain these pirates inside these seas for them to easily catch. However, due to the rising number of pirates and some of them are just on insane levels, they can't contain them there, instead, these pirates go to the graveyard of pirates, The Great Blue. It is where the said route to the mythical treasure resides. And that is where Thomas' father is. But in order to get there and survive, you need to be strong, including your crew. Because if you lack guts and strength, then that place would be your graveyard which your body would just be lunch for sea creatures. As Thomas reads the newspaper and drink some coffee, he then heard some loud booming. Thomas stood up, folded his paper and went and stood near the bow of his boat and there, at least a few kilometers away from him, a ship. It can't be seen clearly because of the dark, but when Thomas grabbed his telescope and looked through it, he then saw what terrified him. A flag with a skull and bones on it,

"A pirate ship!" Thomas screamed as he panicked.

He now remembers that there have been some pirate incidents at the other side of their island where the main town of this island is. And this must be the pirates that was terrorizing that town, and now it has come for Thomas' town. Thomas ran around his boat as he is now turning his boat away and is trying to escape them. But as he was trying desperately, he then forgot to lift the anchor. And this is when he knew that he is done for. The pirates are closing in since the wind is favoring them. It only took them 2 minutes to reach where Thomas is. And Thomas just lost all hope; the pirates began throwing harpoons towards Thomas' boat as they zipped down the ropes while laughing. They landed on the boat, and Thomas backs away so that he could at least escape by swimming away. But to where? These pirates look menacing, they hold machetes and some point guns at Thomas,

"Give your valuables and we will let you go!" bellowed one ugly and bald pirate with damaged teeth as they all laughed.

"I-I don't have any! I am only a fisherman. Take all the fish that you want, just take it! But please don't go to the town!" Thomas begged.

The pirates just laughed at him and then, the one with the gun shot 3 times in front of Thomas and near his feet as Thomas seemed to dance as he dodges the bullets.

"You are dancing good, aren't 'ya?" the pirate laughed.

And then, something big came zipping down the rope and paved his way through the men,

"Oi, let me through!" ordered a man with a deep voice.

The men gave this gigantic man some way. This man stood in front of these guys; he is at least 8 feet. Thomas then looked at this man's face. He has this short beard and balding hair, a muscular build, and a big anchor tattoo on his left arm. It is no doubt. He is Delgado the plunderer, captain of the Plundy Pirates. This man has a 10,000,000 bounty on his head and is one of the most dangerous pirates around the Koes Sea.

"The kid is telling the truth. Now, grab all the fish here, everything, and then bring the kid. We would earn a lot from this handsome fellow. Now!" the captain ordered as he then jumped so high and returned to their big ship.

Since Thomas can't afford to get kidnapped by some pirates, he grabbed one of his fishing rods and then went on to resist. He may not have a boon, but at least he has some fighting skills. One of the pirates swung his arm at Thomas, but the young fisherman dodged it by leaning backwards. He then brought his body back and then released a strong right hook that knocked that pirate. Thomas was already celebrating by defeating one pirate, but then, a man struck the back of Thomas' neck with the butt of his gun. And just like that, Thomas went out of conscious and was kidnapped by pirates. The pirates placed Thomas in a cell in their ship. And after they hauled the entire boat of Thomas, they then fired cannons at it and sunk it.

"Go west! We will be heading towards GrimTown!"

And an unprecedented voyage took Thomas away, without anyone knowing.