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Chapter 57: A Prophecy Revealed
Atropos was aimlessly floating in limbo, worry clouding zir mind. Zi had no idea if zi should leave back to zir home and search for zir mom. Time was weird in this place, and zi had only visited here in zir dreams. This was the first time zi’s crossed using zir scythe. Atropos clutched at the scythe, paralyzed to make a decision.
A lone spirit passed Atropos, and zi felt compelled to jokingly ask, “What does a spirit do in this situation?” The dragon spirit turned to zir and said simply, “Nothing. We tend to not meddle in the world on the living.” Atropos gawked at the spirit, mouth hanging, for a period of time that even made the spirit uncomfortable, “You may want fix your face. It looks like it got stuck.”
Atropos shook zir head, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t expect you to answer. My name is Atropos, and I came here to escape someone called Dakila.” The spirit’s eyes widened, “Wait, you are the one that freed a spirit from here without permission?!”
“Oh, um, do you mean Edel?” Atropos asked sheepishly, “Yeah, it sort of escaped out of a tear I made. Did I do something wrong?”
“Definitely. I heard murmurs while I’ve been here that the reapers are looking for you. You might want to be careful,” the spirit responded.
Atropos paused in thought and then asked, “Can you bring me to a reaper?” This time it was the spirit that looked shocked, “You want to go to a reaper? Even if that means you’ll be punished?”
“It was an accident! Maybe I can work something out with them. Either way, they should know more about my abilities and maybe even help me get out of here safely,” Atropos explained. The spirit sighed, “I don’t have any better place to be here, so sure, I’ll bring you to a reaper.”
“Thanks!” Atropos said, but inside, zi was wondering if zi was doing the right thing.
Seabert grew to be a strong and capable sailor, to the point that many of their crewmates turned to them for help on deck. Even though Seabert spoke little, the warmth and kindness they gave put the crew at ease. Glan was very proud of Seabert, and tried to express it when he could to Seabert.
“You’re such a light to this crew, just like your mother,” Glan would say. But this conflicted Seabert. They were never the bright, joyful type like their mother based on the stories Glan told. Rather, Seabert would worry about the dangers the crew faced and wished they could fight it off before it would bring any harm. Yet, when Seabert was told this by their father, they smiled and nodded, hoping to please him with their response. Today, Seabert was cleaning out the cannons, hoping that they’d be ready for whatever beast they would see in the water domain.
“Woah, I can almost see meself wi’ the way yer shinin’ ‘em!” Ember said as he approached the hard-working Tundra. “Ahoy, Uncle Ember. I’m almost done ‘ere. Need any ‘elp?” Seabert said, giving one more rub with the cloth before nodding in approval of their work. “Nah, ye ‘elp this crew plenty. I was wonderin’ if I could ‘elp ye,” Ember said, “Ye’ve been extra quiet lately. Just gettin’ a little worried. Must be the dad in me,” and he laughed to lighten the mood.
Seabert turned and smile, “Thanks, but I’m good.” Ember’s face grew serious, “I know yer dad sees yer mom in ye, an’ it gives ye pause every time ‘e mentions it. Seems like a heavy anchor to lift.”
“I…it’s best we don’t talk about it. Things are goin’ well enough for the crew, an’ we’re almost at the mouth of the Sea of a Thousand Currents. We need everyone at their best to face what dangers may come next,” Seabert said, trying to change the subject.
“Aye, shipmate,
all of us need to be at their best, an’ even though ye’ve been dealin’ well with that ghost moon now, I don’t think yer out of the deep waters yet,” Ember said, but Seabert remained quiet and turned to another cannon to start cleaning it, “If ye think that I will say somethin’ to yer da’, I won’t. I respect ye too much to let somethin’ that personal be spoken by anyone else but ye. But I’m ‘ere if ye ever need to talk. See ye ‘round, Seabert.”
As Ember walked away, Seabert felt sad at not being able to speak with their uncle. They know he meant well and would not speak to their father. However, they feared saying what they felt aloud would make it true and change something in them that they could not change back. There was too much at stake to hurt those they loved, and they needed to protect their crewmates, their family, at all costs.
If all the stories Seabert heard were true, the Second Chance was going into some truly dangerous waters. All their attention needed to be focused on that.
“Where is Mele?!” Penina cried, swimming into Pika’s room. Pika and Lanuola were deep in discussion over some ancient texts and were startled by the unusual loss of composure from Penina.
“Oh, my Queen, do you need help?” Lanuola asked as Penina was looking around the room hastily. Pika leapt into action and swam to the queen, using her body as a ring to prevent Penina from continuing her wild search, “Peace, my friend. Whatever is the matter?”
Penina, being prevented from swimming around, was able to focus on Pika and Lanuola, “Mele - I cannot find them anywhere! They’ve been so sad these last few weeks, but never to the point where they wouldn’t visit me for days.”
Pika looked surprised, “I haven’t seen Mele either, not since Shezilzilla’s kids finished their lessons. I thought they’d be with you.” Lanuola spoke, “Same, although, didn’t they leave with Maevarau that day to play one last time?”
A look of horror passed over Pika’s face, “When was Maevarau last seen?” she asked Lanuola. “The guards haven’t seen xem since that night. Probably did well on xer promise to leave the palace. What does that have to do with Mele?” Lanuola asked, looking confused.
“I never thought Maevarau would do something so rash... I will leave to search for Maevarau and Mele at once. Lanuola, you will stay here to assist the Queen. Maybe if we’re lucky, Mele has been simply hiding away in the palace and sulking at Maevarau leaving,” Pika ordered, and looked at Penina, “I promise that I will bring back Mele as soon as I find them. Maybe Mele was inspired by Maevarau to leave too. Either way, they’re my responsibility to take care of. You already have your claws full with the kingdom.”
Penina looked torn, “But Mele is my responsibility too, not just yours. How can I focus on the kingdom when I know Mele can be in danger out there? You know how important they are to me…I should’ve taken more time with Mele so this wouldn’t have happened…” Penina’s voice was barely a whisper at the end, and Pika hugged her friend. “We both should’ve been there for them more, but punishing ourselves now won’t help anyone find Mele. Stay at the palace in case they come back. Lanuola will help you with the tasks that I usually help with while I’m gone.”
Lanuola gave a determined face and clenched aer fists, “You can count on me!” Penina still looked very worried and was on the verge of tears, as far as underwater folk can appear to cry, “I hope you find Mele quickly, Pika, for both of us.”
Pika nodded and swam off, and Penina continued her search in the palace. Only Lanuola stood still for a moment, realization dawning, “Mele may have left with Maevarau on xer adventure…oh, wait. This is the first time I’m acting on official cleric business – what do I do?!” Stumped but seeing Penina search the room, Lanuola figured the best course of action was to help looking for Mele. Hopefully, whatever else ae needed to do would come naturally. Hopefully…
“You have been doing well, my King. With your influence, we may have enough pawns in the kingdom to take down the royal family and secure your place on the throne without getting our own claws dirty,” Edel said, praising Dakila. Dakila gave a slight grin, enjoying the admiration, “We have work ahead of us yet, Edel. You mustn’t hurry an effective scheme. Which reminds me, when is Douglas’ next meeting? I hear he has amassed a good number of new recruits. It would be a pity that I couldn’t attend because we didn’t have the correct time and place.” Edel, getting Dakila’s hint, bowed, “I will see to it to get you the details soonest,” and it swam off.
Only Dakila and Ula were left behind in the cave. Ula had been more quiet than usual, tending to their clerical duties without much more than simple chants to ward off bad luck and welcome in good fortune. Dakila enjoyed the more peaceful environment, but wondered what would keep the Fae from being as annoying as its typical self.
“YOU MUST SEEK!”
Ula was surprisingly loud, their voice echoing in the cave in a manner that felt surreal, and when Dakila turned to look at them, their eyes were wide and glowing.
“A fallen king will seek a deadly ally
Amidst the halls of rulers past.
Nan’nalu’s rulers shall fall, the kingdom’s end is nigh!
An overdue price will be paid with the titans’ clash.”
After the echo from the last of the words faded to nothing, silence hung in the waters of the cave. Dakila, holding his breath, waited for Ula to come to their senses. Ula’s eyes stopped glowing, and they raised a hand to rub their forehead, “Feels like a bunch of fish swam through my head. What happened?”
Dakila swam towards the Fae, “I have heard about premonitions from Nan’nalu’s most powerful clerics, but I have never witnessed one myself. Do you remember anything?” Ula shook their head, “Last thing I remember was adjusting a stone in the cave to ensure good fortune stays stuck to the floor.”
Yes, back to “normal”, as far as Ula goes, Dakila mused,
maybe they can make some sense out of their omen. And after Dakila said the premonition’s words back to Ula, the Fae mumbled some words, “Fallen king…psh, the gods shouldn’t insult my king so…but an ally would be great to achieve his plans…rulers past? I haven’t been to those grounds in some time...”
Dakila was getting annoyed, “Spit it out, Ula. What does it mean?” Ula nodded a few times to themselves and then spoke, “If we want your plans to succeed, to cause those in power at Nan’nalu to be removed, we must travel to the sacred site of Nan’nalu’s ancient rulers. There, we may indeed find the being that will secure your victory.” Dakila had a devilish grin, “Seems you have proven your value as a cleric today. Once we hear back from Edel and attend Douglas’ meeting, you will lead the way to secure our next ally.”
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HeatherAKARoses
So not much time has passed since the chapter that Skydancer siblings “passed” their “final exam” and Edel did its treachery. I am trying to illustrate all of the events across all of the characters, but it’d be too much to fit into a single chapter. I haven’t talked much about time for this story, so I hope I don’t cause confusion when this story is laid out. I try to illustrate how much time has passed by hatchling growth and the order of events. Time doesn’t necessarily pass at a rate relative to how these chapters go out.
Okay, with that out of the way, lots of development and motion! I wanted to illustrate a few areas of conflict and further development to characters we were left in limbo (one even literally). It’s a start to finally get closer to the storyline I have been planning, and I am excited to slowly reveal the secrets of Nan’nalu and the characters in this story.
