The Rise of Solo
 

Hey guys! Thought I'd give story writing another shot. I am relatively new to this so advice will be welcomed.


Solomon stared down at his crew. They were working fiercely under the merciless summer sun. It was a fine day in the Caribbean, the sun was out - burning the pirates aboard the mighty ship Blue Dawn - the sea had a green - blue hue to it and almost seem to be glowing. It was almost too good, there were storm clouds on the horizon. Solomon was facing a dilemma. Shall he sail forward and gain ground? Or wait here? Either way the storm was going to reach him one way or the other. Solomon - or Solo as he had been nick-named - decided to drop anchor right where he was. "All hands!" He yelled, "Raise the sails and drop the anchor, we be waiting the storm out right here, mateys"
"Aye, Aye, captain" The crew yelled at once, almost like it was practiced.


That night Solo was sitting in the captains cabin. Dinner was being served. The smell of newly cooked pig was filling the cabin. Solo's mouth was watering. He didn't realize how hungry he had been up until now. He was to busy worrying about the storm that seemed to have come to a standstill mere meters away from the Blue Dawn. The crew were scared out of their wits, they reckon witchcraft was involved. The storm had formed like a fog wall in front of them almost wanting the pirates not to continue forward. Solo dug into the meal greedily, not caring about the days events, it all just melted away as he ate the succulent meat. "ALL HANDS", the voice came from above, it sounded like death himself "DROP THE SAILS, FULL SPEED AHEAD". Solo stood up so quickly it was almost like he was flying. Who was giving orders on his ship? As he came rushing out the cabin he noticed the crew looking about from where them orders came from. His first mate, Joshua came running up to him "Yer Orders Cap'n?".
"Nay, might just be-" Solo was cut off as out of the fog emerged two war ships.

Solomon noticed something, these ships weren't ordinary ships. The wood seemed to be rotting, massive holes were in its hulls - it was a miracle they could still float - it seemed to be going against the wind and above all the crew aboard seemed to be already be dead.

The skeletons were rushing about the deck, loading cannons, brandishing swords, and yelling cries of war as they neared. The stench of hundreds of rotting corpse filled Solo's nose, it clogged out every other smell and was almost unbearable. Solomon still had enough sense within him to give orders, "Load the cannons, or it be ye who wakes up in Davy Jones Locker!!" His crew was one of the most well trained crew in the Caribbean, most off them were ex-navy. But no matter how good they were, the skeletons were to close and two powerful.

The ship on the starboard side fired first, but instead of normal cannonballs fiery spectral shots came flying into the ship. Solo's crew was now utterly terrified, but still managed to return fire. The cannons boomed as shots were fired, but they seemed to do no damage to the Ghost ships. A laugh emitted from nowhere, a deep, heartless laugh. The skeleton ships started to board. Swinging from ropes, the skeletons landed, one by one. Solomon's best fighters were first in line for their defensive efforts. But no matter how many skeletons were defeated more would board. It was like a nightmare, only real. Solo's crew was soon cut down to size. Only He, his first mate, and 2 pirates were left standing. Solomon gasped in disbelief as a skeleton appeared out of the fog, as if by magic. He marched over to Solo, briefly stopping to pick up a plank of wood from the ship. The last thing Solo remembered was, pain, lying on the ground, staring at the skeleton with the plank in his hand and a pistol-dagger combination as his other hand. He had a whalebone leg and a heartless laugh. Then Solomon lost consciousness.

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Well, Its a start I guess.

-Solo O'S

Wow great!

The pain was almost unbearable. It was throbbing from the back of his head. The sand made soft, almost pleasant crunching noises as Solo’s body shifted. A groan escaped from his lips. Solomon forced his eyes open. He was staring up into a blue sky, not a cloud in sight, not even the sun. Solomon had no idea where the light was coming from. He sat upright. He seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. White sand stretched out in all directions. Solo had heard this place described in tales that were only murmured among close friends. This was Davy Jones Locker. Then Solomon noticed something he had missed. A ship, his ship was there, leaning on its side in near perfect condition. Solomon got up, the pain was excruciating. He limped over to the ship. The name Blue Dawn proudly on its stern as if nothing had happened. A rope hang from the side. He climbed up the rope, slowly but was making progress. He finally got aboard deck. Unlike the hull of the ship, it wasn’t quite so nice. Dark red-brown patches had stained the deck, splinters, destroyed cannons and weaponry lay scattered.

Solomon gingerly picked his way across deck, taking in the sight from the battle that took play not so long ago. Solomon was hungry, but above all thirsty, thirsty for revenge on his murderers. Solomon sat down on a step leading to the helm. The ship was a war frigate but had stood no chance against the skeleton ships. Solomon glanced up, a flash of movement on the horizon caught his eye, it was a normal sloop. Sailing across the sand. Solomon thought he must be loosing it. Surely ships cant sail across the sand, could they?

Solomon made his way into the captain’s cabin. There lay his dinner, on the table. His chair lay on the floor where it had landed when he flew up. His stomach rumbled as his eyes fell on the dinner again. He dug in, but it wouldn’t satisfy his hunger, neither would the rum satisfy his thirst. He heard commotion outside, almost like a marching sound. He glanced out the cabin window. Outside he saw battalions of navy men marching across the sand, not even paying attention to the ship, they were all staring blankly ahead. All of the had wounds, gunshots to the head, sword through the heart, representing how they had died. Solomon touched the back of his head to find it coated in blood. The navy all marched into the direction of where he had seen the ship. Solomon had a crazy idea, so crazy he had to try it. He ran out of the cabin and quickly scaled the masts, letting the sails down. Sure enough, even though there was no wind his ship started to move. Faster and faster it went, pushing navy scum out of its way. Solomon glanced down from the deck, eager to see the sand woosh by. He was amazed when he saw crabs. They seemed to be carrying the ship. They were no ordinary crabs, they walked forward instead of sideways like he had seen at Tortuga, or maybe the crabs at Tortuga were different? Eventually the ship mounted a hill, on the other side was blue water, the most beautiful blue he had ever seen.

The sound of waves surrounded Solomon, almost embracing him in their familiarity. The smell of salt water also assaulted Solomon. Tears filled his eyes as he realized he’d never see the real ocean again. Solomon also saw the sun. It was low over the horizon and seemed to be mocking Solo. His ship finally entered the water. The beach was littered with shipwrecks. Shipwreck cove itself was nothing compared to this. Solomon also saw fellow pirates staring at his ship in disbelief. He wasn’t going to help them, dead or not they were enemies of Solomon, he had fought them years previously. The ship rocked gently in the water. Solomon sat there lost in thought.


Solomon sat in the bar at Tortuga, drinking rum. He was sent here cause a friend had a hunch that his enemies were plotting on killing him. Now it was his job to spy on them.

“You got the money” Said the first pirate
“Aye, you got the knowledge” Said his friend
“I experienced it first hand, matey”
“But how could I know ye be not lying?”
“Here” The pirate pulled something out his coat, out of view of Solomon, “Prove enough for ye?”
“Fine, now tell me” he said, placing a bag of money on the table.
“Its simple. Ye need only 1 man, so if ye go down yerself ye can get out again”
They mumbled something that Solo could not make out.
“Just rock the boat says I, but a warning, ye would always be hungry and thirsty, nothing will satisfy you again, savvy?”
“Aye, like todays food does that already?”

The rest of the conversation was nothing but a fools tale. Nothing stated anything about trying to hunt down his friend.


Solomon was wondering, could it be, might they have been talking on how to escape this hell? “Ye only need 1 man” Solomon was alone and it seemed like a good place to start. After several attempts, he finally got the boat rocking, cargo was shifting down in the hold and the sun was busy setting, but that wasn’t important. With a groan the boat tipped over, Solo took a gulp of breath and hoped he wasn’t wrong. The ship was barely upside down when it seemed like the water fell away, or flew up was it? Solomon was lying on deck. It was a foggy day. Solomon savored the breathes he took, it smelt fresh and everything had a happy aura to it. The sun had just risen.

According to the morning star, he should be just north of Cuba. This area was heavily patrolled by Navy and EITC ships. He was alone aboard his ship. He stood in no condition to fight a fully armed warship. The wind was picking up and the ship had already started to sail again. Luckily it headed straight for Cuba. Solomon had one hand on the wheel, he was deep in thought. What would he tell the locals if he sailed the ship in alone into port.

BOOM! There was a loud crash, the whole ship shuddered. Solo lost his balance and fell backwards. He stood up again, the wind was blowing fiercely, but the ship was not moving. Solo glanced over the railing, the water was a light blue. Crystal clear and Solomon could see a reef. He had run aground. Solomon cursed aloud, Cuba was on the horizon and he had no ship to sail anymore. He glanced about the deck. There! among the wreckage lay a rowboat, still in good condition. Solomon eagerly got the boat in potion, tied to the ship by a rope. He slowly walked across the deck, sad to see a great ship in ruins like this.


That night Solomon finally landed upon shore, he had no troubles in the rowboat but now he was greeted by many angry locals. They did not take lightly to strangers, especially pirates. They all had weapons of some sort and look ready to kill.

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What do you think, help would be appreciated.

Nice grammar mate!

Its epic and all you have to say is nice grammar mate?

Thnx guys, new chapter should be here tomorrow. Im glad to hear the story is epic, and also glad to hear the grammar is good, my last story lacked both of those :)

Well I do love his stories. But he has improved with the grammar very well, which makes it better to understand! Keep it going Solo!

Chapter 2

The next morning Solomon sat on the beach. During the night a storm had blown his ship off the reef, it had now fully sunk. The locals did not harm Solo when they saw he was only and his ship was grounded. They had thought it was another pirate raid, they had suffered many of the last few months.

Apart from his sunken ship, some other stuff had happened. Solomon had been given a new outfit; a green French hat, lucky long coat, green gold white collar, deputy’s ex-breeches, and a pair of emerald boots. Also a new ship had docked, it was a war sloop. They seemed to be regular visitors as the locals weren’t furious with them. At the moment three of the crew were on the dock arguing with the dock master. One was male; big and muscular, the other two were female. One of the females seemed to be incharge, the others were guards.

The male noticed Solo looking over. He marched towards Solomon, he had long strides so it didn’t take him long to get over where Solo sat. Even though Solomon was fairly muscular, this person look liked he could snap him in two.

“Oi, what do ye want!?” he yelled, he had a deep rumbling voice.
“Nothing, sir” Solomon stammered as he rose to his full height, which was disappointedly about 2 head sizes smaller than the pirate.
“Well, it be rude to stare” he said in a softer tone, almost a whisper.
“Sorry, it be that a lot was in me mind and I didn’t notice”
“Tiss be okay” and with that he walked off.
Solomon made sure he didn’t even look that way anymore.

After some time Solomon fell asleep on the sand. He started dreaming a horrible dream that happened to him long, long ago when he was nothing but a boy.

It was a foggy day in Padres. The volcano was spewing black smoke into the sky. Young Solomon sat in his house staring out the window watching, always watching, he was very curios. The wind picked up and Solo shuddered, he shut the windows and put on his coat. He made his way down to the main living area, the fire was already lit. “My boy,” Said his father Solomon Senior, “come with me and have dinner”. Solo sat down eating the food slowly, it made him feel better when the food warmed him from the inside out. Solo was halfway through his food when a boom rang across Padres. “Probably just someone building something” said his father when he saw the fear in Solo’s face. At that very moment screams of utter terror echoed around the house, followed by gunshots and the marching sound of navy troops running past the house. A heartless laugh floated through the fog, sending chills down Solomon’s spine. His father flew up, grabbing the sword he had. He was no navy, no pirate either. He was trained in swordsmanship though. The governor of Padres should always be able to defend himself. His father walked to the door but before he could reach it the door flew open, Solomon screeched and jumped behind the couch hiding. The smoke cleared and Solomon saw it all; the navy that were suppose to be guarding the door lay dead, masses of bodies were scattered across the courtyard. Countless skeletons stood there grinning. They were going to get good pay for the governor. Solomon watched helplessly as they dragged his father away. Solomon saw his father mouth a short sentence; I love you. Before disappearing from sight.

Solomon woke with a start. He hated that dream, he had wished many times that he could go back and change the event. He wished he had at least done something else rather than sitting there. Solomon touched his face to find it wet with tears.

Aww I love the this story, it is awesome :D

Chapter 3

Solomon was still upset about the dream he had when he noticed them. They were the pirates from the docks.

“Oh, thank goodness” Stated the one who seemed to be the leader, “we thought you were dead”
“Aye, we were about to call the gravedigger to bury you!” said her female companion
“Really?! Cant ye tell the difference between a dead person and a sleeping man?” asked Solo surprised. All he got in return were blank looks on their faces. For the rest of the day they sat their sharing stories, he even found out they were planning on visiting Tia Dalma, the witchdoctor. She was just the person Solomon wanted to see.


The next day they were up early. They planned to visit Tia Dalma first thing. The skies were bright when Solo went outside. He took a walk down the beach, the leader of the other pirates accompanied him. The smell off salt water tinted the air, Solomon was surprised at how clear the water was. Eventually they returned to the tavern, the door creaked open as the other 2 pirates came out. They were all dressed in fine clothing, littered with jewellery, they were either very rich or very good pirates.

Solomon walked slowly, led by the male pirate, he still hadn’t learnt their names. “Excuse me, miss?” Solomon started “I still don’t know yer names, mine be Solomon O’shot Junior”
“Nice to meet you Solomon, may we call you Solo” she laughed as if it was a joke, “Me name be Estella Heartlight, this be me sister Paulette Heartlight and me friend Hector Blastspinner”

Solomon shook hands with each of them and continued on his way. The smell of rotting wood along with rotted carcasses assaulted Solomon as he entered the swamps. It was so pungent that it brought tears to his eyes. How could anybody live in here? he wondered.

Before long he spotted the cabin. It was on stilts to keep it out the water. It was dark in color and various artefacts hung on the porch, including a snake. Solo glanced up, he had no idea on how to scale the side of the building. Estella motioned toward a ladder that Solomon had missed during first observations. He quickly scaled the ladder. It threatened to break on each step. The creaks it made only made Solomon speed his pace up.

They emerged onto the porch, it was littered with a lot of voodoo items. Hector knocked upon the heavy wooden door. Light footsteps could be heard inside, the door creaked open. Tia Dalma was standing there, she was more beautiful than Solomon had imagined. She has dark almond colored skin that looks like it glowed. Her Hair was a series of complex braids that had various bones holding it together.

“Ahhh,” She said “Estella, and the Thirsty Souls, how be it with ye?” Before Stella could answer her eyes fell on Solo. “Who be this?” She asked as she peered at Solomon, “A new recruit perhaps?”
“Nay,” said Estella quickly, “I have yet to ask him to join, this be Solomon”
Tia Hmphed and said “Solmon, I see destiny in you, choose wisely when she asks”
Every time Tia said Solomon’s name she would forget one O. It didn’t bother Solomon but he couldn’t help but notice.

“Tia,” Solomon said, “I have come for a special request” Tia’s eyes widened and she leaned close to Solomon. She smelt faintly of salt mixed with pine, it almost put Solomon in a trance. “Ye seek to be fully alive, don’t ye?” she asked. Solomon nodded briefly and then she demanded payment. Solomon searched his pockets but couldn’t find a thing worth giving. Solomon looked up, “I don’t ha-“
“Here, pay for him” said Estella quietly holding out a orb. The orb had swirling blue-ish mist in it but it glowed bright orange.

Tia took the orb, and walked out the room. Solomon tried catching Estella’s eye to thank her, but she seemed not to see him or chose to ignore him. Tia returned with a J]jar of blue dust. She opened the jar, took a handful and threw it at Solomon. The last thing Solomon remembered was lying on the floor in pure pain.

Hahahaha it is great :) but.... my name is Estela Heartlight :P you can also call me Stella Heartlight, both are ok.

Btw... Tia Dalma = Beautiful? O.O

I had to keep it juicy lol

Love it.. solomon has a weird taste in women lol

Chapter 4

Solomon soon recovered. He knew something was different, he didn’t feel so hungry anymore or so thirsty, he had a new feeling, one he had never experienced before.


Later the day Solomon sat on the dock, his feet were dangling in the water. He watched the cold water swirl around his ankles. Earlier the day, Estela had offered him a job in her army. He would start down in the lowest ranks but he might be able to quickly get promoted if he was loyal and helpful. They were called the Thirsty Souls, since most of them were souls that came back from the land of the dead. All them had a thirst for revenge.

Solomon had a plan to get a new ship. It would require some help though, so he headed to the Boss. “Excuse me, Miss Estela?”
“Aye, Solo” She replied quickly as if she knew what he was asking for
Solomon explained his plan in full detail to her. Her eyes gleamed in delight as he talked.


“Here they be” Said Estela walking down a line of flexing pirates, “Me best crew”
In the line were; Hector, Paula, Jack Sharkbane – The 4th in command, Eliza Macmorgan – a pirate Solo had just met, and Anna Margaret. They weren’t much be he wasn’t going to need much.

It was nightfall when Solo was inspecting the line. They quickly boarded Solo’s rowboat – which had been tied to the dock – and started to sail around the island.
When they rounded a corner they saw the ship. It was a massive Ship of the Line. It had docked here for the night to drop off cargo. Now most men were sleeping on shore, the few left over would be no match for the 7 pirates. A cold breeze pushed the boat closer to the ship. The smell of drying paint hung around as if somebody had painted the ship.

The pirates rounded the ship and found a ladder. There were no navy in sight, they quickly scaled the hull. Solo was the first to reach the deck, the others soon followed.
The nearest group of navy men had their backs to the pirates, they were throwing knives at the mast. As silent as the grave Eliza and Anna sneaked up behind them. Eliza cut the throat of one and Anna another. The last 2 navy men turned around but were quickly killed. Solo spied another man by the helm, and another group sitting and playing poker some distance off. Hector tackled the group alone while Paula went to get the man by the helm. Not a noise was made.

Solo and the rest off the pirates went below decks to look for anymore men. They found a few but they were no threat at all.

The crew gathered on the deck, they had a new ship. Solomon shook hands with each of them, thanking them for their help. He was last to shake hands with Eliza. When their hand touched Solomon thought he felt a spark, he gazed up into her eyes. He had never believed in love at first sight, now he thought differently. Eliza quickly pulled her arm away and smiled.

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Thanks to the thirsty Souls, if anybody reads this, careful wat you do In the guild, migght become a story :)
-General Solo