Chapter 5 : Troubled Waters
Nova's house was, like most Mer buildings, a grotto. If Aaron hadn't already spent time in a Mer village he would never have noticed the concealed entrance. It was hidden from most under water predators and interlopers who had no business within. The entrance itself was narrow, allowing only one person to enter at a time. Nova entered first, followed by Kelcie with Aaron bringing up the rear.
Inside was a sort of antechamber with a tunnel directly in front of them. Nova didn't lead them through this tunnel, however but instead through an opening on the ceiling that Aaron never would have noticed on his own, he was too used to thinking of gravity bound human houses.
Just inside was a ledge and a strange glowing purple boundary marker. Aaron felt a bit of resistance as his head and shoulders emerged from the water, they were now inside a magically maintained air bubble. All three climbed out of the water and the two land dwellers removed their spongy breathing masks.
"Kelcie of Rogue." The voice was unexpected and both turned to see a small pool across the room. Four mermaids rested on four rocks that jutted up out of the pool. Aaron wondered briefly why they had seen no Mermen before remembering that Mermaids outnumbered Mermen by nearly ten to one.
Nova and Kelcie both bowed at the waist and Aaron hesitantly followed suit.
I have come, as requested." Kelcie said as she straightened.
"And this young man?" The elder asked.
"My escort." The dismissal in her tone was obvious, Aaron was of no importance to her or this meeting.
"I see." The elder replied. "But on to business. I've brought you here because of a mutual threat. If the species of the Kraken has been reborn, I have no doubt that they will once more begin to hunt the Mer peoples. "
"As well as begin wrecking havoc on costal towns and fishing villages." Kelcie pointed out.
"As I said. A mutual threat." There was a slight edge to the elder's tone. The tension in the room had suddenly become thicker than the barrier holding the air. The Mer people's didn't mind humans as a race - so long as they stayed out of the water. Aaron wasn't exactly sure what their opinions were on Winglies, since his stay in their world have been confined to this house, Nova and her then baby son.
"My scouts have tracked the Kraken back to a sealed grotto on the mainland, a few klicks south of the Fletz ruins." Nova spoke up. "It is my belief that someone inside the ruins was begun experimenting with…" She paused and glanced at the elders. "cloning."
"Cloning?" Kelcie repeated incredulously.
"I know it sounds absurd on the surface." Nova began, pacing and waving her arms to punctuate her point. "But in reality it isn't much different than say, summoning a Dragon familiar. The problem is trying to find a sustained magic force with enough power to keep the clone active indefinitely."
"How do you know all this?" Aaron interrupted.
Nova paused in mid-stride and turned to look at him. "There are several extensive texts on the subjects, written by your kind, the ancient Winglies. Apparently there was one who did find such a power source, although the texts say nothing of the power source itself. My guess is the Spirit of the God of Destruction."
"You mean Melbu Frama." Aaron's voice was tight with suspicion.
"Yes. I've found several of his notes and texts, I'm something of a collector of ancient works."
"So you think that someone in the Fletz ruins is experiments in using ancient Wingly magic, possibly even cloning." Kelcie broke in.
"That is my belief, yes." Nova clasped her hands behind her back and nodded.
"And what do you expect us to do about it?" Kelcie asked pointedly.
"I need more feet on the ground to explore the ruins." Nova said, though her tone made it clear that the request should already have been obvious.
"Why not simply ask the Empire for help? That is their territory after all."
Aaron wondered why Kelcie was suddenly so defensive.
"Quite frankly, I don't trust the Empire." Nova answered without hesitation. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were funding these experiments."
"Then why bring Rogue into this?"
Ah, so that was it. Politics. The Untied Endiness Empire had been trying to absorb both Mille Seseau and Rouge since it had gone from just the United Endiness to the United Endiness Empire. It really was a shame that the line of King Albert had ended, the new line of kings- now emperors had taken the Empire straight down hill.
"I'm not trying to bring Rogue into this." Nova answered calmly. "I'm just asking a friend of mine to go for a swim. Even if you are caught in Imperial territory, you are just a private citizen, not a representative of Rogue."
"Fair enough." Kelcie glanced over her shoulder at Aaron, who nodded. "We would both be happy to help."
"Excellent." Nova turned and bowed to the Elders who nodded in return and dove off their rocks to swim away. Nova turned back to Kelcie. "Come, preparations have already been made for our departure."
"Wait." Kelcie held up one hand. "You want us to leave /now/?"
"I can't help but believe that time is of the essence."
"But-"
"Word has already been sent to your guardian, Serif, that you are going on a journey with me. He trusts us both, he won't worry about us." Nova smiled for the first time since the meeting had begun. "Well, not much anyway."
"Looks like you thought of everything." Kelcie smiled in return. "As always."
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Author's Notes:
Hmm, haven't done this before, have I? I'm sorry for the delay in posting. I've had this written out on paper for several days now but simply did not have the time to type it out. Hopefully I'll get the next part up faster. *Crosses fingers*
Disclaimer: If I owned LoD, I'd own Sony and I'd be rich. But I'm not. So don't sue me.
Nova's house was, like most Mer buildings, a grotto. If Aaron hadn't already spent time in a Mer village he would never have noticed the concealed entrance. It was hidden from most under water predators and interlopers who had no business within. The entrance itself was narrow, allowing only one person to enter at a time. Nova entered first, followed by Kelcie with Aaron bringing up the rear.
Inside was a sort of antechamber with a tunnel directly in front of them. Nova didn't lead them through this tunnel, however but instead through an opening on the ceiling that Aaron never would have noticed on his own, he was too used to thinking of gravity bound human houses.
Just inside was a ledge and a strange glowing purple boundary marker. Aaron felt a bit of resistance as his head and shoulders emerged from the water, they were now inside a magically maintained air bubble. All three climbed out of the water and the two land dwellers removed their spongy breathing masks.
"Kelcie of Rogue." The voice was unexpected and both turned to see a small pool across the room. Four mermaids rested on four rocks that jutted up out of the pool. Aaron wondered briefly why they had seen no Mermen before remembering that Mermaids outnumbered Mermen by nearly ten to one.
Nova and Kelcie both bowed at the waist and Aaron hesitantly followed suit.
I have come, as requested." Kelcie said as she straightened.
"And this young man?" The elder asked.
"My escort." The dismissal in her tone was obvious, Aaron was of no importance to her or this meeting.
"I see." The elder replied. "But on to business. I've brought you here because of a mutual threat. If the species of the Kraken has been reborn, I have no doubt that they will once more begin to hunt the Mer peoples. "
"As well as begin wrecking havoc on costal towns and fishing villages." Kelcie pointed out.
"As I said. A mutual threat." There was a slight edge to the elder's tone. The tension in the room had suddenly become thicker than the barrier holding the air. The Mer people's didn't mind humans as a race - so long as they stayed out of the water. Aaron wasn't exactly sure what their opinions were on Winglies, since his stay in their world have been confined to this house, Nova and her then baby son.
"My scouts have tracked the Kraken back to a sealed grotto on the mainland, a few klicks south of the Fletz ruins." Nova spoke up. "It is my belief that someone inside the ruins was begun experimenting with…" She paused and glanced at the elders. "cloning."
"Cloning?" Kelcie repeated incredulously.
"I know it sounds absurd on the surface." Nova began, pacing and waving her arms to punctuate her point. "But in reality it isn't much different than say, summoning a Dragon familiar. The problem is trying to find a sustained magic force with enough power to keep the clone active indefinitely."
"How do you know all this?" Aaron interrupted.
Nova paused in mid-stride and turned to look at him. "There are several extensive texts on the subjects, written by your kind, the ancient Winglies. Apparently there was one who did find such a power source, although the texts say nothing of the power source itself. My guess is the Spirit of the God of Destruction."
"You mean Melbu Frama." Aaron's voice was tight with suspicion.
"Yes. I've found several of his notes and texts, I'm something of a collector of ancient works."
"So you think that someone in the Fletz ruins is experiments in using ancient Wingly magic, possibly even cloning." Kelcie broke in.
"That is my belief, yes." Nova clasped her hands behind her back and nodded.
"And what do you expect us to do about it?" Kelcie asked pointedly.
"I need more feet on the ground to explore the ruins." Nova said, though her tone made it clear that the request should already have been obvious.
"Why not simply ask the Empire for help? That is their territory after all."
Aaron wondered why Kelcie was suddenly so defensive.
"Quite frankly, I don't trust the Empire." Nova answered without hesitation. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were funding these experiments."
"Then why bring Rogue into this?"
Ah, so that was it. Politics. The Untied Endiness Empire had been trying to absorb both Mille Seseau and Rouge since it had gone from just the United Endiness to the United Endiness Empire. It really was a shame that the line of King Albert had ended, the new line of kings- now emperors had taken the Empire straight down hill.
"I'm not trying to bring Rogue into this." Nova answered calmly. "I'm just asking a friend of mine to go for a swim. Even if you are caught in Imperial territory, you are just a private citizen, not a representative of Rogue."
"Fair enough." Kelcie glanced over her shoulder at Aaron, who nodded. "We would both be happy to help."
"Excellent." Nova turned and bowed to the Elders who nodded in return and dove off their rocks to swim away. Nova turned back to Kelcie. "Come, preparations have already been made for our departure."
"Wait." Kelcie held up one hand. "You want us to leave /now/?"
"I can't help but believe that time is of the essence."
"But-"
"Word has already been sent to your guardian, Serif, that you are going on a journey with me. He trusts us both, he won't worry about us." Nova smiled for the first time since the meeting had begun. "Well, not much anyway."
"Looks like you thought of everything." Kelcie smiled in return. "As always."
----------------------
Author's Notes:
Hmm, haven't done this before, have I? I'm sorry for the delay in posting. I've had this written out on paper for several days now but simply did not have the time to type it out. Hopefully I'll get the next part up faster. *Crosses fingers*
Disclaimer: If I owned LoD, I'd own Sony and I'd be rich. But I'm not. So don't sue me.