The Scriptures of the Seas, Year 4

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The Scriptures of the Seas, Year 4

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The sapphire waters of the sea teemed with life, wondrous sculptures of living coral and beautifully colored fish leisurely wandering the reef. Brilliant shades of yellow, red and blue mingled to create a living rainbow, and Alusi swam alongside the reef itself, enjoying a brief time of relaxation before returning home. She had done all she had been requested to do, and it was her chief joy to explore the living things that decorated Dagonar's environs... her father had once commented that she should become a scholar once an adult, seeing how delighted she was whenever she found a new king of seastar, or whenever a strangely shaped fish led her on a merry chase. It seemed, too, that the animals of the sea found her just as delightful: despite the dangers lurking in the depths, not once had Alusi even seen the barest glimmer of a threat. Even the most poisonous creatures of the reef seemed to withhold their aggressiveness, and let her hold them in her hand, sensing perhaps that she was no foe, that she was innocent yet.

It had been some time since last the priests of Dagon had visited the city that bore the god's name. Many who still worshipped the Lord of the Seas had left Dagonar for other cities, such as Naga or En-Dagon; those who had remained were content to live without such zealots, and offered prayers instead to whatever god was most needed at the time. Months earlier, a wandering preacher of Dagon's had condemned the city for what he had called a "dark and degrading worship", and had left grumbling to himself about the faithlessness of Dagonar's citizens; many had laughed privately at him, though no one had dared to show anything less than utmost respect for him. Even in Dagonar, it was not a good idea to antagonize a god.

Alusi had not seen the preacher, though she had heard about him. But she had read something about Dagon, and she wasn't sure she liked what she saw. The Lord of the Seas sounded like a grim, gloomy god, perhaps even bloodthirsty (though this thought she had never voiced to anyone); she knew the sea was capricious, but she also knew the sea should be a giver of life as well as a taker. Personally, Alusi still had find her guide in life - though from what she heard, perhaps the distant god, Zephyr, could be the kind of god she would be glad to follow.

Suddenly she stopped. Not far ahead, she saw a lifevent - a crack in the ground from which hot water erupted violently, a place which the scholars believed also gave birth to living things, as evidenced by how many strange creatures lived around it. Alusi frowned, puzzled. She had been here many times, and that lifevent was new. That was strange - perhaps something below the ground was changing? She didn't know much about what caused lifevents to appear, but maybe she should ask her cousin Galai, who seemed to be much more knowledgeable.

Lost in her thoughts, it took her a few moments to notice the sinuous shadow to the east. When it moved, she looked at it and felt her heart skip a beat: whatever it was, it was enormous, and it was still far away! She had heard rumors - only one living being in the depths of the ocean cold be that gargantuan, the mythical Leviathan of Dagon. A shiver ran down her spine to the tip of her tail - travelers had said the Leviathan slumbered far to the south. How could it be there? Why? Unease set in, and she quickly swam away, intending to seek her father to ask for his advice.

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Then the call came, like the song of a whale, yet more powerful and discordant; it filled the waters, almost deafened Alusi. She knew the songs of dolphins and whales, and they were songs of joy and happiness; this song was a song of rage, a song of mocking. In her mind she had no doubt that only one thing could produce it: the Leviathan. Silence fell, and still stunned, she continued swimming away, now more afraid than she had ever been in her life. The earth trembled: the Leviathan was slamming its serpentine tail against it with a power to rival the gods.

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Then it happened. The ground cracked, burst open with a violence she had never seen; shards and debris were hurled in every direction, alongside shattered corals, torn fish corpses, broken shells; she instinctively raised her arms to protect her face, and felt the sting of many a slash, felt herself battered by the explosion. Her heart beat furiously, her eyes squeezed shut: the hideous sound of cracking stone filled her with dread. There was now a current in the water, a powerful one which dragged her with it no matter how much she struggled; she opened her eyes fearfully, not knowing what to expect... she saw the Leviathan darting at an impossible speed, monstrous and gigantic, a vision of such immensity that her mind threatened to shut down, overwhelmed. Why...? was the only thing she could think before she saw the Leviathan's purpose, before the gargantuan struggle that followed hurled her helplessly against sharp stones, and the shed blood of titans locked in battle filled the waters of the newly formed maelstrom, blood so potent and acidic that Alusi's destiny was cut short in the blink of an eye...
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