It was seventeen hundred and forty eight in the year of our lord, when silver waves of purpose and determination collided into the jagged, rocky bluffs of Edisto Island. The salty spray had little time to dissipate before the next thundering crash pounded into its levying boarders. And with the rolling of the tide came three demanding ships. Occupied by three hundred souls per vessel. Nine hundred men with a cause and mission.
The serenity of peaceful blue skies garnished by flights of seagulls rapidly vanished, as looming gray clouds of damnation forced their way over the eastern coastline. An unseasonably cool and high wind aided the masted vessels as they continued along their course. A course that would lead the crews - at some point - …show more content…
Anchors were dropped and sailors manned the decks in formation as if to boast their presence to the native islanders. And though there were only a few present to bare witness to the formal arrival, they couldn’t help but to gawk in awe at the sight of the regal intrusion. An intrusion that demanded all of the onlookers attention. An intrusion of Bulgarian boots that would plant their roots deep along the boarders of the South Carolinian heartland.
Once the rolling waters had been brought to a calm- succumbing only to the will of the driving force behind them - men of all sizes began to off-load themselves into smaller, oar powered boats. One-by-one they abandoned their anchored ships, toting large and heavy sacks over their shoulders. Sacks of a strong fiber that could withstand the weight of its evil content. A content unimaginable to the people of Edisto, unimaginable anywhere.
After pulling their boats from the towing waters, the sailors began embracing their first obstacle. An obstacle that would prove to be defiant to their cause and taxing to their bodies. It grew thick and heavy throughout the steep and rocky terrain of the Edisto bluffs. Tree-after-tree, brush-upon-brush, and tentacle-like vines weaving in every direction; in every thinkable …show more content…
Enough to move from the low lying beach to the high rising hilt of the bluff’s plain; some one hundred feet overhead. The intensity of the laboring task demanded commitment. And commitment, by no means would be in short supply. The men were willing, capable, and equipped to meet the resistance of the woody incline. With tools of a sharp and sturdy design they began clearing their way.
Heaving their hatchets, machetes, and wielding the destructive force from their brooding axes, vines and small limbs fell to the ground. Trees that had survived hurricanes and tropical storms were cut and laid to the side. In a strange and eerie silence, the sailors pressed on as their faces hung void. Clean from all expression and lacking of emotion. Only the occasional gasping wince of exhaustion would reflect their true physical state. A state that had been masked by a “Charm” incantation used by Vlad IV.
Their minds - all nine hundred of them - had fallen prelude to his bewitching ways. They had been locked out of certain truths and mentally chained to Vlad’s desires. And though many of the men worked under the dense covering of nature, it did little good - if any at all. For the shade was not protection enough to protect them from the waves of heat that seemed to materialize out of the hazy midday’s
The serenity of peaceful blue skies garnished by flights of seagulls rapidly vanished, as looming gray clouds of damnation forced their way over the eastern coastline. An unseasonably cool and high wind aided the masted vessels as they continued along their course. A course that would lead the crews - at some point - …show more content…
Anchors were dropped and sailors manned the decks in formation as if to boast their presence to the native islanders. And though there were only a few present to bare witness to the formal arrival, they couldn’t help but to gawk in awe at the sight of the regal intrusion. An intrusion that demanded all of the onlookers attention. An intrusion of Bulgarian boots that would plant their roots deep along the boarders of the South Carolinian heartland.
Once the rolling waters had been brought to a calm- succumbing only to the will of the driving force behind them - men of all sizes began to off-load themselves into smaller, oar powered boats. One-by-one they abandoned their anchored ships, toting large and heavy sacks over their shoulders. Sacks of a strong fiber that could withstand the weight of its evil content. A content unimaginable to the people of Edisto, unimaginable anywhere.
After pulling their boats from the towing waters, the sailors began embracing their first obstacle. An obstacle that would prove to be defiant to their cause and taxing to their bodies. It grew thick and heavy throughout the steep and rocky terrain of the Edisto bluffs. Tree-after-tree, brush-upon-brush, and tentacle-like vines weaving in every direction; in every thinkable …show more content…
Enough to move from the low lying beach to the high rising hilt of the bluff’s plain; some one hundred feet overhead. The intensity of the laboring task demanded commitment. And commitment, by no means would be in short supply. The men were willing, capable, and equipped to meet the resistance of the woody incline. With tools of a sharp and sturdy design they began clearing their way.
Heaving their hatchets, machetes, and wielding the destructive force from their brooding axes, vines and small limbs fell to the ground. Trees that had survived hurricanes and tropical storms were cut and laid to the side. In a strange and eerie silence, the sailors pressed on as their faces hung void. Clean from all expression and lacking of emotion. Only the occasional gasping wince of exhaustion would reflect their true physical state. A state that had been masked by a “Charm” incantation used by Vlad IV.
Their minds - all nine hundred of them - had fallen prelude to his bewitching ways. They had been locked out of certain truths and mentally chained to Vlad’s desires. And though many of the men worked under the dense covering of nature, it did little good - if any at all. For the shade was not protection enough to protect them from the waves of heat that seemed to materialize out of the hazy midday’s