Crimson Compass

The sea gnashed at Kael Drayce's boots, cold and bitter as a scorned lover. He clung to the jagged prow of the sunken galleon, its timbers groaning under the weight of centuries. Waves battered the ship's corpse, half-swallowed by a reef no sane sailor would dare chart. Kael wasn't sane, though-not by a long shot. Sanity didn't pay debts, and it sure didn't keep the sharks off his trail, both the finned kind and the ones with knives and ledgers.

"Move, you bastard," he muttered, wrenching a rusted plank free. Spray stung his eyes, but he squinted through it, peering into the gaping maw of the hold below. His torch flickered, spitting embers into the dark. The storm had driven him here-three days off course, rations gone, and a crew muttering mutiny louder than the thunder. But Kael knew wrecks like this held secrets. Secrets meant gold. And gold meant freedom.

He dropped down, boots thudding on sodden deck. The air reeked of rot and salt, thick enough to choke a man. Shadows danced as his torch swept the hold-barrels split like skulls, a skeletal hand clutching a busted spyglass. Nothing worth a damn. He kicked a crate aside, cursing under his breath. "Two days of rowing for this? A pile of-"

The glint stopped him cold. There, wedged beneath a coil of barnacled rope, something gleamed. Not the dull sheen of tarnished coin, but a sharp, bloody red that pulsed like a heartbeat. Kael's pulse quickened to match. He crouched, prying the rope away with his dagger. The object slid free, heavy in his palm-a compass, its casing carved with symbols he couldn't read, its glass cracked but glowing faintly crimson.

"Hell's teeth," he breathed, turning it over. The needle spun wildly, ignoring north, darting like a cornered beast. No rust, no wear-just that eerie light, spilling over his scarred knuckles. He'd seen trinkets before, peddled by liars in dockside taverns, but this? This was no fake. It thrummed against his skin, alive in a way that made his gut twist.

A low rumble shook the wreck. Kael froze. Not thunder-too deep, too close. The compass flared brighter, and the needle snapped to a point, quivering as if it'd found its mark. Then the voice came.

"Find the Vault of Veyra," it rasped, sharp as a blade on stone. "Or the world drowns in shadow."

Kael jolted, dropping the compass. It hit the deck with a clang, but the voice didn't stop-it coiled inside his skull, cold and unyielding. He scrambled back, torch clattering, heart hammering against his ribs. The wreck shuddered again, timbers splintering as water surged through the hull. Whatever this thing was, it wasn't just a compass. It was a summons.

He snatched it up, cursing his luck, and bolted for the breach he'd climbed through. The sea roared louder now, clawing at the ship like it meant to drag it-and him-under. Kael hauled himself onto the reef, the compass clutched tight, its glow cutting through the storm's gloom. Above, lightning split the sky, illuminating his skiff bobbing dangerously close to the rocks. His crew's shouts barely pierced the wind.

"Kael! You alive, you mad dog?" Torv's gravelly bellow rose over the din. The big man clung to the oars, his beard soaked, eyes wide with something between fear and fury.

"Barely!" Kael yelled back, leaping into the skiff. The boat lurched as he landed, and Torv rowed hard, cursing the waves. Kael didn't look at the others-little Jyn with her patched cloak, or grim-faced Marek sharpening his axe. He didn't need to. He felt their stares, heavy as the storm.

"What'd you find?" Jyn asked, voice sharp despite the tremor in it. She leaned closer, peering at his clenched fist.

Kael hesitated. The compass burned against his palm, its whisper echoing in his ears. Vault of Veyra. Shadow. He should toss it overboard, let the sea swallow it. But the weight of his debts pressed harder than the storm-the bounty on his head, the promises he'd broken. This thing, cursed or not, was a chance. Maybe the only one left.

"Trouble," he said finally, tucking it into his coat. "Same as always."

The skiff rocked as a wave crashed over the bow, and Torv barked a laugh that sounded more like a growl. "Trouble's your shadow, Drayce. Hope it pays this time."

Kael didn't answer. The compass pulsed against his chest, its needle steady now, pointing into the black heart of the storm. Wherever this Vault was, whatever Veyra meant, he'd find it. He had to. Because if the world was going to drown, he'd damn well be the one to outswim it.