Trieste

» Trieste the diver ═══════════════ . Though there be fury on the waves, Beneath them there is none. . Behemoth Lance Trinkets Dragons not of the water flight are unable to discern what manner of creature this spearhead came from. Those of the water flight will not speak of it. 34 Livewire Endlers Seafood Groups of these electro-conducive fish are routinely kept in glass jugs. Their internal glow and highly-reflective scales mixed with the refractory qualities of the water make for an amazing light show. 29 3 code by epher #101073

» ══════════════ ※ ══════════════ « Corrupted diver Lost to oblivion’s grasp Drifts in the abyss

It was the smell that first drew Trieste to the water.

Along the shore, dead and dying marine life lay rotting in the noonday sun. Just beyond his claws, the water teemed with dark, viscous particles. They clung to the shoreline, staining the sand and the rocks and the bodies before him with an unidentifiable murk.

When the waves rolled in, they were nearly black despite the bright sunlight.

"It happens from time to time," he'd been told; otherwise, assured that it must be runoff from the Shadowbinder's pool, but the dark current stretched out as far as Trieste could see, further than he could imagine even the Shadowbinder able to foul so thoroughly.

And this dark tide had already lasted longer than he could remember any other, but showed no signs of shrinking, let alone abating.

Someone has to get to the bottom of this, Trieste thought, overseeing the devastation. He'd played on this stretch of beach as a dracling; dove in the now muck-filled, stinking tide pools, fished from this very spot.


[...]

"The sea always returns what it takes," she said, giving voice to the familiar superstition.

How many times had Trieste heard those words while growing up beside the ever-changing shoreline? He could echo them in his sleep. What the waters destroyed, be it through flood or storms, they restored: enriching the land, providing their bountiful catch. He'd even heard tale of dragons lost at sea washing up, unharmed, upon the shore.

"...But if you go willingly into the water, you'll never return."

She must have seen the flicker of confusion cross Trieste's face, because she laughed, low and dark. "Never heard the end of that particular parable, eh? Make no mistake, young one. There was a time she was feared as much as she was loved."