The wind rose.
Gales whipped up the sea, raising waves two meters high.
The sailors furled the sails to reduce resistance and keep the warships steady.
To the east, storm clouds and a swirling hurricane formed a vast vortex against the black sky.
A muffled rumble of thunder sounded, and rain came pouring down.
The storm at sea slowly advanced toward the fleet. Rowan took a rain cape from Ellen, gripped the railing with both hands, and watched the waters straight ahead.
Jaina declined the rain cape Ellen offered her. She gently raised her left hand, gathering a gentle flow of arcane energy into an Arcane Barrier. Raindrops struck the barrier and slid off.
"The storm has defined boundaries and follows a fixed course. Someone created this storm at sea," Jaina said with a frown, already suspecting who was responsible.
Rowan stared straight ahead across the sea without replying.
Rather than analyze what had caused the storm to gather, he needed to consider how to win the coming battle.
The eye of the storm drew closer. Powerful winds swept toward them with lightning, accelerating and leaving Rowan little time to react.
At the same time, Rowan glimpsed faint flashes of fire through the sheets of rain.
Black storm clouds filled the sky, blocking the sunlight. Yet the deeper the darkness, the brighter those faint flashes became.
"Signalman! Order everyone below deck! Now!" Rowan shouted.
The signalman on the second deck at the bow waved his signal flags. In less than ten seconds, the decks of every warship were deserted.
Rowan and Jaina had barely stepped below deck when a volley of solid cannonballs followed.
Thunder rolled so frequently that it was impossible to distinguish it from cannon fire. But two violent shudders told everyone below deck that their warship had