Thalassa

Thalassa
Water Tainted of the Order
Twin to Phorcys
Once Known as Leucothea
Host of Mazu and Jailer of Iku-Turso
The Shade Prison.

Twins born in the same nest in different eggs but twins all the same. The mental connection is strong and they are aware of the other who resides deep within them. They are happy. The sun is bright, the waves are warm, their sister chirps, and their parents watch over them and teach them meditation to keep the other at bay. All is well in their world.
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She is quietly watching her brother flounder through the waves. He is the disturbing the fish, the bond lets her know that he is doing it on purpose. She’ll trip him later for it. There is an edge of something in the bond that makes her shift but when she checks again it’s gone. She frowns for a moment but then he runs over to her splashing her newly polished scales and she squawks and chases after him in mock anger. The other in her shifts itself and observes.
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Their sister has long since left the clan and her brother has been distant. She is lonely but she is concerned as well. Her attempts to contact him over the bond have rarely been reciprocated. He doesn’t move away from her when she curls up next to him to sleep but he doesn’t seek her out as often either. She meditates and interacts with the rest of their clan as much as she can but they are not keen to interact with those who have the Shade, what she calls other, inhabiting them. She reaches out to her brother and gets a flurry of confusing, violent images from him. She is scared.
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She sleeps, her brother is restless beside her tossing and turning in his sleep. She is annoyed and moves away just enough so she can drift off without him waking her again. She awakes to the urgent shifting of the other. She is groggy at first but then she hears the screams and she realizes that her brother is no longer beside her. She rushes out of the den and into pure chaos there are injured dragons fleeing from the center of the clan and as she moves forward she is aware that some of the dragons she thought were injured are dead their eyes blank and unseeing. When she gets to the center of the lair she sees a massive ridgeback with midnight dark scales tearing through a clan member. The other in her shudders in anticipation and urges her to launch herself at the other dragon. It’s not until the dragon turns and she sees the platinum wings that she recognizes the dragon as her twin.

She shivers as her twin meets her gaze. His eyes are blacker than she’s ever seen them before and the feeling of wrongness washes over the bond dizzying her, making her shift back uncertainly. The other pushes at her again, sending images of disaster and a sense of urgency that convinces her for the first time in her life to lower the walls that she had been taught would keep the other at bay. She feels the glee in the other as it pushes to the front, leaving her aimless and out of control of her body. She watches from a distance as she feels her body slam into her brothers and the other rips and tears not just at her brother’s body but also reaches over the bond to rip at the other who has taken over his body.

The fight goes on for what seems like hours and then suddenly she feels her other reach for their magic making them nearly as untouchable as the water around them. She parts and splits, dodging every blow until they are ready and engulf her brother striking at his other with both her natural magic and the smooth unnatural feel of Shade magic. She can feel her other’s joy when her brother’s other attempts to flee the attack and she startles when her other latches on to her brother’s and begins to absorb it. For the first time she hears her other speak. “Iku-Turso, finally you are returned to me.” It speaks no more and she has scarcely a second to breathe before, what was once her brother’s other lashes out at her and her other in a desperate attempt to escape. The pain is excruciating and her vision goes red, then black and she knows no more.
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When she awakes her brother is pinning her down and her other is still in control, struggling to keep the one it called Iku-Turso contained. When her other realizes that she is conscious again, it immediately gives her control of her body while it focuses completely on forcing Iku-Turso into what seems to be chains that it had made out of itself. She shakes her head and blinks up at her brother, answering him when he calls her name and moving slowly gingerly when he finally moves to let her up. She tries to bring up the wall between her and the other again but it escapes her grasp and she finally gives up trying. She looks around and her heart sinks at the sight of her dead family and clan mates. Her brother disappears and quickly returns with food and bandages and they take time to fix each other up and eventually fall into a deep slumber.

They begin the process of burying their fallen clan mates the next day and her heart is at its heaviest when they bury their parents together. She numbly agrees that they should leave but she can’t seem to make herself willing to leave the place that had brought them so many good memories. She feels they should watch over the burial ground of their clan mates although she says little to her brother about her feelings. The other agrees with her twin, and insist that those who fled would return with the intent of killing them. It did not want to die and it would be unhappy if she was harmed. She ignored it and the deeper grumblings of its prisoner. Her brother begins to patrol the clan leaving her to hunt for food and stockpile their dwindling supply in preparation for a move that she was not yet ready to fully commit too. Then her brother returns with the news that he had seen an old clan mate leaving their territory and she is pleased that some did survive until the implications hit her and at the urging of both her twin and the other she finally agrees that they should leave this place now. The next day she follows her brother as they leave the only home they knew forever.
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They travel alone for years, and in the beginning they fall in with various groups for a brief time before going their separate ways. She changes her name it is not who she is anymore. She is struggling to understand the magic that chain the other called Iku-Turso and fails. Her other, who calls itself Mazu, cannot explain it well enough for her to use the magic so every time Iku-Turso attempts to break free, she has to give control over to Mazu. During these moments her focus is inward and she knows that Mazu is not yet adept at controlling her body and it distresses her to realize that neither of them are really aware of what they do while they fight Iku-Turso. She notices that her brother has begun to avoid bringing her in contact with strangers and she silently approves. She has seen how some look nervously at her when they join them and she is concerned that they will one day be attacked. She knows he will keep her safe and she mourns the scars he gathers when he has to fight to keep others from trying to kill her. It has begun to drain her magic and she is scared when she wakes up for the first time with blood on her. Mazu does not answer her questions except to say that the keeping of Iku has begun to take a toll on them both. She doesn’t remember and Mazu refuses to answer the questions she has. She works hard to clean herself of the blood but it never seems like enough. Her twin asks no questions.
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Iku has grown more and more bold as time as past and she has agreed to allow Mazu to take control indefinitely. She will not allow it to start a slaughter as it did before when it was still apart of her brother. She is aware that Mazu doesn’t always recognize her twin after pushing Iku back but it has learned to associate safety and protection with her brother’s scent and the bond between them. They are not aware of the imperial stopping them as they travel through the Ashfall Waste as their minds reel from yet another attack by Iku, she is not aware of the change in direction nor of the imperial changing shape. The first thing she notices is the feel of magic testing the bonds between her and her twin, her and Mazu and Mazu and Iku. There is the sound of whispers as for the first time since they had obtained Iku the wall is built back up. She blinks and startles at the small fae perched on top of her head. It murmurs that there is a great deal to teach as it flutters off to lead them to the cave with the imperial fledglings. Her body sags in relief when the female mind touches hers and begins to work on fixing the damage inflicted by Iku in the years that they had obtained them. She has a great deal to learn here and they know that they will one day be able to hold the chains on their own without assistance from the fae or the little imperial. This will be a good home for her and her twin.