"Hold the briefcase tightly, Meridith! The storm is getting worse!"

The wind had picked up. In the distance, were waves, like mountain ranges. Although the boat did not rock because of them.

She shouted over their loud, distant roar.

"Yes, father!"

Her father stood, both hands outstretched to his sides, holding those waves at bay. This feat would have seemed spectacular, to those who didn't know her father. They wouldn't have cared for those occasional shutters, running through his body, or for the perspiration, in place of the ocean spray, soaking his robes. She did. She knew her father, better than anyone had ever had the chance to.

"Meridith, be ready! My mana is running out! Chalk!" He shouted so loudly she nearly fell over herself. "There is chalk in my right pocket! Quickly, draw a sigil on the floorboards!"

She drew it around him, becoming aware of just how small their boat was. Merely eight feet wide, and twenty feet long. If he weren't tired and fleeing, this storm wouldn't be a problem, but, that he was tired, meant that it could capsize.They had left the port in a rush. So quickly, that they hadn't gotten the news of a storm so massive. 

"Father, we'll be alright. Right, father?"

He lowered his hands, as his voice stopped its chant, he collapsed soundly. His mana had run out. His last thought was that he, and his daughter, would pass on together.

............................

"Father! Father! Please get up..." The salt water dripping from her brown hair pooled around his eyes, as she hovered over him. He woke up reaching to her face to wipe away the tears, that would drip down, too.

"Shush, now. Meridith, I'm still alive... help me stand up."

They were on a beach. The storm clouds made the sky gray, and the wind and rain had nearly subsided. But, those waves were still tall. 

He saw pieces of his little ship splashing around out there. And that their mass was beached along with them, its sail was still attached and spread widely across the shoreline.

"We won't be getting off of this island anytime soon. I'm not even sure of where we've landed... Thank the gods we did."