07-27-2016, 09:29 PM
The Ocean teamed with life, and the Sage passed through with quiet and rapt observance. There were stories of what lay beneath the waves, but in truth, they fell far short of the true magnificence of the world which lay beneath the waves. There were so many different plants and fish that simply were not visible from a boat. The Sage couldn’t help but wonder whether the oceans of his home were equally populated, not that it mattered anymore he supposed.
As he half-swam half-walked along the lower parts of the Ocean floor he wondered idly about his home. Would there be a way to get back there? It was only logical, he assumed, If Omni had summoned him here, then clearly he should be able to send him back. The grinning demagogue had made things relatively clear when it came to the scope of his powers, the trick would be getting the godling to do it. But in truth, the Sage wasn’t even sure he truly wanted to be sent back. This world was stranger than anything the Sage could have fathomed was possible, but the sheer volume of discoveries that afforded him was too tempting a prize to pass up.
By all accounts the worlds had only occupied for approximately a decade. While the Sage doubted the truth of these stories, there was far too much architecture for civilization to only have arrived so recently, the possibilities this opened before him were quite tantalizing. If this was true, then he possessed the chance to record THE History of the Omniverse. All of it. The thought that every single fact was here, somewhere. Nothing shrouded in legend, nothing obscured and confused by the passages of time. The answers would be there somewhere; it would just depend on if he knew where to look. The hunt awaited him.
For the time being however, he needed to focus on his current objective. He needed to make friends if he was going to gain access to the resources he would need to make the discoveries, and by all accounts the Kingdom was a powerful force to be reckoned with. He didn’t know exactly where in the scheme of things this Clowney sat, but he didn’t see any reason not to look into the matter, particularly if the artifact was as interesting as the letter seemed to say it was. If his information was correct, he had nearly reached Cinnibar Island. He began to swim upwards towards the surface above. The Zora tunic not only allowed him to breathe underwater, but he found it also seemed to normalize the pressures one often experience while deep below the surface of the water. He knew of many a more experienced driver from his homeland who would have greatly desired this garment, and he couldn’t deny that the Zoran craftsmanship was impressive.
He broke the surface in the fading light of evening. He had traveled most of the day, and the one before. He hadn’t been able to see below the surface during the night, so he had found a deserted island to briefly rest on. He felt a growing sense of urgency as the journey wore on. The letter he had intercepted seemed relatively new, but that was now a week ago. How long would Clowney remain on the island awaiting reinforcements? There was no way for the Sage to know, he could simply make the best time available with his current resources and hope that he was expedient enough.
In the fading light, he could see the collection of ships, anchors down, sails stored away: The Imperial Blockade. They floated there, masts stretching tall against the failing orange beams of light. For all the claims made about Imperial ruthlessness, the impression he got from the craft was not callousness, but of loneliness. The remote vessels waited; silent, resigned yet still resolute. There was something to admire in their devotion to their orders. But the Sage could not fully separate the lonesome rectitude of those distant ships from the frank brutality and unrelenting scrutiny that he had experienced from his brief interactions with Imperial forces. No, these were not people he wished to become overly acquainted with.
With a slight sigh, the Sage dove back beneath the water, letting himself sink back beneath the obscuring waves. He had hoped to make it under the blockade while it was still daylight. He had no idea what measures they might have in place for those who tried to travel beneath the waves. He doubted the concept had escaped their ken, but he supposed that it was possible. He himself had not thought of the concept before the Zora suggested it, but now that the topic had been suggested it seemed well within the realm of magic to overcome. The real question would be whether the Imperial blockade had been equally enlightened.
Light was actually going to be a problem, now that he stopped to think about it. Passing under the boats during the cover of darkness would be preferable to avoid detection, but brought its own set of challenges. The Lexistone gave off a soft light, enough that he wouldn’t be swimming blind, but he didn’t like the idea of having an easily visible light for anyone who happened to look over the side of the boats. He briefly considered waiting until daylight returned, but there were no suitable islands nearby to pass the time, and he did not relish the concept of remaining below water for the entirety of the night. There was no telling what prowled these waters, and he preferred to keep moving.
After some contemplation, he decided that the need for caution was outweighed by his sense of urgency. The Sage pulled out his Lexistone, taking a moment to admire its warm orange glow before making his way towards the blockade. He had judged their distance to be a little under half a mile from where he had broken to the surface, and he tried his best to keep track of the boats from his underwater vantage despite the rapidly disappearing light. In the span of half an hour, the Sun was gone, and the Sage was nearing the foremost of the Blockade’s ships.
He had been forced to move slowly so as to avoid detection. Now that he was actually beneath the boats, the game entered his next phase. Before he was just a strange light bobbing below the waves. Only the most bored of seamen would do anything more than fire a half-hearted cannon at such a thing. Now he was something infiltrating the blockade; something that would assuredly have to be dealt with if brought to their attention.
He passed under the first dark spot, which he assumed was the first ship. So far there was no sign that his presence had been noted. The Sage held aloft the Lexistone. Something caught the light for a moment before darting away, the shimmer of bright scales catching even the weak light of the stone. Whatever it was, the creature knew the Sage’s location. Or perhaps it just knew the location of the light. With a swift motion. The Sage dove, straight down until he reached the ocean floor some 10 meters below where he had been swimming. He thought he caught sight of a compact shape descending as well, but he couldn’t be sure that was actually something real.
The seafloor here was rocky and uneven, likely torn by some underwater volcano. The Sage smiled slightly this would serve his purposes just fine. Moving quickly, the Sage set the Lexistone on a nearby outcropping, then moved out of the light as quickly as he could. Taking shelter in one of the splits in the rock, he watched, eyes peeled for his pursuer. He didn’t have long to wait. With a strangely audible sound for the amount of water, a large orange fish barreled directly into the Lexistone, impacting with the rock outcropping solidly. “Human! Death to the Human, ‘Karp!!!”
As he half-swam half-walked along the lower parts of the Ocean floor he wondered idly about his home. Would there be a way to get back there? It was only logical, he assumed, If Omni had summoned him here, then clearly he should be able to send him back. The grinning demagogue had made things relatively clear when it came to the scope of his powers, the trick would be getting the godling to do it. But in truth, the Sage wasn’t even sure he truly wanted to be sent back. This world was stranger than anything the Sage could have fathomed was possible, but the sheer volume of discoveries that afforded him was too tempting a prize to pass up.
By all accounts the worlds had only occupied for approximately a decade. While the Sage doubted the truth of these stories, there was far too much architecture for civilization to only have arrived so recently, the possibilities this opened before him were quite tantalizing. If this was true, then he possessed the chance to record THE History of the Omniverse. All of it. The thought that every single fact was here, somewhere. Nothing shrouded in legend, nothing obscured and confused by the passages of time. The answers would be there somewhere; it would just depend on if he knew where to look. The hunt awaited him.
For the time being however, he needed to focus on his current objective. He needed to make friends if he was going to gain access to the resources he would need to make the discoveries, and by all accounts the Kingdom was a powerful force to be reckoned with. He didn’t know exactly where in the scheme of things this Clowney sat, but he didn’t see any reason not to look into the matter, particularly if the artifact was as interesting as the letter seemed to say it was. If his information was correct, he had nearly reached Cinnibar Island. He began to swim upwards towards the surface above. The Zora tunic not only allowed him to breathe underwater, but he found it also seemed to normalize the pressures one often experience while deep below the surface of the water. He knew of many a more experienced driver from his homeland who would have greatly desired this garment, and he couldn’t deny that the Zoran craftsmanship was impressive.
He broke the surface in the fading light of evening. He had traveled most of the day, and the one before. He hadn’t been able to see below the surface during the night, so he had found a deserted island to briefly rest on. He felt a growing sense of urgency as the journey wore on. The letter he had intercepted seemed relatively new, but that was now a week ago. How long would Clowney remain on the island awaiting reinforcements? There was no way for the Sage to know, he could simply make the best time available with his current resources and hope that he was expedient enough.
In the fading light, he could see the collection of ships, anchors down, sails stored away: The Imperial Blockade. They floated there, masts stretching tall against the failing orange beams of light. For all the claims made about Imperial ruthlessness, the impression he got from the craft was not callousness, but of loneliness. The remote vessels waited; silent, resigned yet still resolute. There was something to admire in their devotion to their orders. But the Sage could not fully separate the lonesome rectitude of those distant ships from the frank brutality and unrelenting scrutiny that he had experienced from his brief interactions with Imperial forces. No, these were not people he wished to become overly acquainted with.
With a slight sigh, the Sage dove back beneath the water, letting himself sink back beneath the obscuring waves. He had hoped to make it under the blockade while it was still daylight. He had no idea what measures they might have in place for those who tried to travel beneath the waves. He doubted the concept had escaped their ken, but he supposed that it was possible. He himself had not thought of the concept before the Zora suggested it, but now that the topic had been suggested it seemed well within the realm of magic to overcome. The real question would be whether the Imperial blockade had been equally enlightened.
Light was actually going to be a problem, now that he stopped to think about it. Passing under the boats during the cover of darkness would be preferable to avoid detection, but brought its own set of challenges. The Lexistone gave off a soft light, enough that he wouldn’t be swimming blind, but he didn’t like the idea of having an easily visible light for anyone who happened to look over the side of the boats. He briefly considered waiting until daylight returned, but there were no suitable islands nearby to pass the time, and he did not relish the concept of remaining below water for the entirety of the night. There was no telling what prowled these waters, and he preferred to keep moving.
After some contemplation, he decided that the need for caution was outweighed by his sense of urgency. The Sage pulled out his Lexistone, taking a moment to admire its warm orange glow before making his way towards the blockade. He had judged their distance to be a little under half a mile from where he had broken to the surface, and he tried his best to keep track of the boats from his underwater vantage despite the rapidly disappearing light. In the span of half an hour, the Sun was gone, and the Sage was nearing the foremost of the Blockade’s ships.
He had been forced to move slowly so as to avoid detection. Now that he was actually beneath the boats, the game entered his next phase. Before he was just a strange light bobbing below the waves. Only the most bored of seamen would do anything more than fire a half-hearted cannon at such a thing. Now he was something infiltrating the blockade; something that would assuredly have to be dealt with if brought to their attention.
He passed under the first dark spot, which he assumed was the first ship. So far there was no sign that his presence had been noted. The Sage held aloft the Lexistone. Something caught the light for a moment before darting away, the shimmer of bright scales catching even the weak light of the stone. Whatever it was, the creature knew the Sage’s location. Or perhaps it just knew the location of the light. With a swift motion. The Sage dove, straight down until he reached the ocean floor some 10 meters below where he had been swimming. He thought he caught sight of a compact shape descending as well, but he couldn’t be sure that was actually something real.
The seafloor here was rocky and uneven, likely torn by some underwater volcano. The Sage smiled slightly this would serve his purposes just fine. Moving quickly, the Sage set the Lexistone on a nearby outcropping, then moved out of the light as quickly as he could. Taking shelter in one of the splits in the rock, he watched, eyes peeled for his pursuer. He didn’t have long to wait. With a strangely audible sound for the amount of water, a large orange fish barreled directly into the Lexistone, impacting with the rock outcropping solidly. “Human! Death to the Human, ‘Karp!!!”
Quote:1338 words according to word counter.net
6,128 words total
If history is to become legend, it first must be recorded.