Unnamed

The darkness that swallowed them both.

The oceans bordering Sornieth once used to be filled with roaming dragons and creatures stemming from the magic-infused land. The drakes expanded upon their borders, frolicking in the salty waves, building boats and other contraptions in hopes of sailing to lands unknown. Maren and other water-dwelling creatures swam beneath the surface, living contentedly and in bliss. The oceans were a rather safe place, and welcomed all with open arms. The very worst of the creatures remained in the deep, so it was safe for weaker beings to swim and thrive. The ocean seemed to have a mind of its own, and hardly a dragon was ever lost at sea. When one strayed too far, the ocean would kindly let its winds blow the dragon back home. Admittedly, this did mean that dragons could never really explore other lands if the ocean intended to keep them safe, but then again that did mean the ocean was the perfect recreational place. Without fear, the dragons lounged on rafts bobbing above the waves, undaunted by the expansive waters. For they loved the ocean, and the ocean loved them.

But even when land has long since dipped the horizon, the ocean is not alone to crave for attention from its denizens. The sun shines high above it, burning with all its might.

The oceans bordering Sornieth once used to be filled with roaming dragons and creatures stemming from the magic-infused land. The drakes expanded upon their borders, frolicking in the salty waves, building boats and other contraptions in hopes of sailing to lands unknown. Maren and other water-dwelling creatures swam beneath the surface, living contentedly and in bliss. The oceans were a rather safe place, and welcomed all with open arms. The very worst of the creatures remained in the deep, so it was safe for weaker beings to swim and thrive. The ocean seemed to have a mind of its own, and hardly a dragon was ever lost at sea. When one strayed too far, the ocean would kindly let its winds blow the dragon back home. Admittedly, this did mean that dragons could never really explore other lands if the ocean intended to keep them safe, but then again that did mean the ocean was the perfect recreational place. Without fear, the dragons lounged on rafts bobbing above the waves, undaunted by the expansive waters. For they loved the ocean, and the ocean loved them.

But even when land has long since dipped the horizon, the ocean is not alone to crave for attention from its denizens. The sun shines high above it, burning with all its might. It brings light to the land, and the creatures adore it. Some do not dip their toes into the water at all, preferring to lay down and allow the light to soak into their scales. Some do dancer, lift offerings high into the sky, to please the great burning being above. The sun is worshipped, and craves the praise of all those beneath it. While the land has mountains and trees to place a border between the sun and the creatures below, alone the ocean there is no border. All that stands between the sun and the ocean are the dragons between them. And so the ocean and the sun stare at each other, gazes brimming with more and more loathing as each day goes by. The two are immensely jealous of each other. The ocean is jealous of how the sun shines over the land and the sea, and is angry how the creatures seem to respect the sun more than it. The sun is jealous at how the ocean may spend time with the dragons even in darkness, and how the beings below seem to have more fun with the ocean than they do basking in the sun. So the two entities both decided to try and win over the favor of the dragons.

It started with peaceful methods. Each tried to win over favor with beauty. The sun stole magic from the land, dragging it up into the sky. From then on, it would use its brilliant light to shine through the magic which it used as a visor, filling the sky with a prism of colors. Dragons stared up at the sky in wonder as brilliant rainbows filled what once was light blue, oblivious to the diminishing magic of their land. The ocean did the same, pulling essence of the elemental energies from the land to fill in its waters. The waves became nutrient-rich, said to make a dragon younger after a single swim within the depths. Waves which once roamed of white were filled with shimmering colors, splashing magic onto the creatures it hit and filling them with strength and joy. But when neither sun nor ocean noticed an increase in love for them and a decrease in love for the other, their methods turned violent. The sun shone brighter than ever before in an attempt to woo the dragons with its brilliance. It only succeeded in scorching both land and beast with horrible burns, and life began to wither away under the unceasing waves. The ocean sought to enamor the dragons with its mighty nature, and churned up great maelstroms to stun the dragons into love. Hurricanes and tornados whipped across the surface of the ocean, dragging down dragons into a deep, watery grave. The power and force of some winds were so great, creatures were thrown on to the bank, breaking bones and losing lives upon the rocks and sand which they landed upon. The ocean tried to shield the sun with great, billowing clouds, only making the storms worse. No good was coming for the fight. Many had lost their lives already, and could find nowhere to flee where they would truly be safe. Only a mighty catastrophe could end the warring between the two giants.

And something did.

The chaos the warring caused combined with the magic upheaval from the energies stolen from the two entities caused something to awaken. A great beast, greater than anything witnessed before. It was not composed of magic, nor Shade. It did not favor light, nor darkness. It slept upon the ocean floor, no start nor end to it, only existing. When it awoke, its very growl caused the world to shake. It loosened its claws from the ground and began to swim upwards. Still embroiled in conflict, neither sun nor ocean noticed the change. Creatures and dragons alike cowered in fear, shuddering and trembling as they pressed their bodies to the ground, wondering what great horror was upon them. When the rumbling started, the sun and ocean had finally noticed. But it was too late to do something about it. Two sickly red eyes appeared in the waters a second before they crashed above the surface.

It was unexplainable. Terrible, and yet calm. A tragedy, and yet a miracle. Those who saw the whole thing blinked their eyes in confusion, unable to process the scene once it had ceased. It had all happened so fast. Something had burst from the ocean, greater than Sornieth itself. It appeared black as night-- or was it? It was simply moving too fast to tell. Some say they saw galaxies within it. Others claimed to see the future. Even more claim that it was not once giant beat, rather an amalgamation of billions of tinier ones, creatures so correlated and so intelligent average dragons could not even comprehend their existence. The great beast flew up, up, and up towards the sky, and the land was momentarily cast into darkness as it blotted out the sun. Some say the creature climbed so high, it touched the sun itself. Then it fell back down, retrieving back to the depths which had born it. Coiling back against the ground, it fell asleep once more, content with its work. The magic which the sun and ocean had stole was launched back into the land, healing its weakness. The sun stayed shock from the great intrusion and violation which had just been thrust upon it. The ocean released from the great scar which had just been carved upon it. They trembled and quaked, as it about to burst into tears. Then, everything fell calm. Something within the two masses, some sort of entities, had been devoured and died. Or, perhaps they had thrown on to the land with the rest of the magic, now devoid of their power, a mere fragment of the mighty creatures they once were.

Although the ocean was calm and the sun no longer deadly, dragons avoided the ocean. They believed that whatever had ended the battle was still alive. No longer able to return to its deep slumber, even the tiniest movement on the surface would spur it to life. It would rise once again and devour the poor offender. Time passed. Only the most insignificant of fish lived within the ocean. Not even the whales were that large. Sometimes, Maren would swim out into the ever expansive sea, only to duck back into Sornieth. They were unwilling to leave their families for the rest of eternity. Dragons grew bolder as well. Generations passed, and with each new era youngsters grew less fearful of the water which bordered their land. Sometimes, the most adventurous would craft their strongest boat and sail out into sea. But they are few and far between.

For though they mean no harm, those who leave never come back.