Tales of Valand: War of Darkness (Chapter 1)

The waves fiercely assaulted the tiny fishing boat, as it plunged in and out of the sea. Spray blasted the small wooden ship as it valiantly fought a losing battle against the sea. Inside, a middle-aged man fought the wheel as it spun, crazily sending his fishing boat plowing through the deepest waves. Nearby, a woman groaned in pain. She clutched her bulging stomach, it was plain that she was pregnant, and near her time.

"Daron," she gasped. "Help... me."

Daron glanced behind him. His wife was sweating profusely, but if he let go of the tiller, the ship would likely go down. He gritted his teeth. 

"I can't. Try to hold on." 

He turned back to the tiller and looked ahead. Through the blinding sheets of pouring rain, he could see a red light glowing dimly. He couldn't be sure what it was, he had never sailed this far before, and no sane man would have in a tiny fishing boat. He had been driven to it. The elders of his village falsely accused him of theft. Daron had not stolen, but he could not prove otherwise and was forced to flee to the sea with his wife. It was the only way. Then the storm had hit and driven him far away. he had lived his entire life on the sea, as generations of his ancestors had. He knew its beauty was unparalleled, but its harsh displeasure could be expressed suddenly with catastrophic results. His wife gasped again. Daron slammed the tiller, trying to steer towards the red light. He didn't know what it was, but if it was land it could be their only hope. Suddenly, he heard a crunching sound. His eyes widened. It was the unmistakable sound of timber against the sand. Peering out, he could see the boat was breached on a bunch of rocks and sand, forming a small sandbar, but only twenty feet away was a stretch of white sand. He picked his unconscious wife and plunged into the waves, struggling against tit and the wind towards the shoreline. He reached it and plunged into the small forest growing by it. His wife's eyes flickered. 

"Help me," she groaned. "The baby..."

"I know," Daron soothed. "We're on land now, it will be all right." 

He carefully placed her against a tree. In the midst of the destructive hurricane surrounding them, as waves pounded against the beach, and jagged spears of lightning fell from the sky, he hoped against hope.