The light flashed again. This was the tenth time exactly that a strange glare from beneath the ice had come to Cariu's attention.
She hadn't expected the path through the icebergs to be so long and winding, almost as if it had been carved by something. Though the harsh sounds of the Seer-Beasts had died behind the mega-pod of Orca, beluga and narwhal, a new feeling of foreboding came from the constantly flashing lights from the darkness of the deep ocean...so dark in contrast with the white glare of the sun on the ice around them.
Ronon quietly chirped for attention. "Mother, I believe we can all rest now."
"Yes, I don't hear anything..." Seidrac whispered her agreement as she swam idly behind the other two, keeping an eye on the members of her own pod that were still alive.
Cariu glanced around, peeking her head out from under the icebergs. The Seer-Beasts seemed long gone behind them, but with their luck they could be back.
"We shall go out...but not all at once," the matriarch finally decided. One by one and two by two, led by their leaders, the pods swam from under the winding trail of ice and into the dark waters, searching in earnest and fear for the lights that kept distracting them.
But once they were all finally out into a clear area, the glare once again came to Cariu's eye, and she swiveled, looking for it. What she saw made her gasp in surprise. "How did two whales slip by without our notice?" She demanded.
The whales were glaring nearly as white as the ice. Their eyes swiveled to catch sight of the Orcas.
There was a flash...cries of "I'm blind!" filled the water...
The song that Ecco had recognized as that of a Seer crept ever closer. Biransa kept her calf beside her, the young Niemas becoming just a little frightened at all of this activity and at the sight of the gargantuan sperm whale.
"Seer? Are you serious, Ecco?" the mother asked. There was a coupled sneer from both Scaroth and Bro-aht in skepticism, but still they kept their guard. Glacier swam out from the group, curiously singing back. The songs were indeed in the tongue of the ancient whales, and just for the luck, it seemed none of them could understand it.
Definitely a Seer... Ecco thought as a sudden flash near blinded him from nearby.
It swam as if materializing from the darkness. A whale just as large as a Blue, skin whiter than the clouds, a mystic glow surrounding it but slowly flickering and fading away. Ecco swam in front of everyone else in defense, for now the arrogant warriors in Scaroth and Bro-aht were frozen stiff with disbelief. These were the creatures that had sent the Seer-Beasts...weren't they?
The great whale stopped as it stared at a living barrier of little singers, especially with caution at the two killer whales that accompanied them. Its notes were low and mournful, but with a hint of relief at having found Ecco and the others.
After a moment of listening, Glacier whispered, "Ecco, can you make anything out of the song?"
The dolphin shook his head. "No...this is the most ancient whalesong, I can't understand it."
"He's saying that he is glad to have come upon us, for there is something wrong," Sawtooth suddenly interrupted. The others stared at him questioningly, which made him chuckle. "I can understand a little of ancient whalesong, remember? The Keystone Song?"
When the whale started singing again, Sawtooth translated for them. "I am sure you have many questions of me, as well as all of the other Seers. We should not be out of our paradise, but we were forced. The creator of the beasts that hunger for singer flesh has lost the pod of the north waters, and therefore has resorted to dispatching us to search for them. We Seers have nothing for us in your world, and a few of us have already died whilst swimming in these waters, for our age and immortality have nothing here."
Scaroth snarled as he swam protectively in front of Biransa and her calf. "So you've found us, knowing that I and the other Orca pod leader were here. You're not going to capture us!"
"Hold on," Ecco gently interrupted the brute. "He said 'the creator of the beasts'...the Seers aren't responsible for them...and if they aren't, then who is? Ask him that," he said to the sperm whale.
Both inquiries were asked of the Seer, and Sawtooth translated his response. "I haven't come to capture you, friends...I am here to warn you, for you are the ones in league with the great Ecco, the chosen one of the gods.
"Without us, our paradise is threatening to open once more...but with malevolent control, not with peaceful control. If this happens, the world's oceans will be consumed. Only now have we realized this. I have tried finding you by sensing the powers of immortality flowing through your veins. Ecco has it, and so do the rest of you, but it is not strong enough.
"I would have lost you if I had not sensed just now what hasn't been sensed for thousands of years since we Seers came into being: the birth of an immortal. It has led me here."
Everyone gasped in surprise as they looked down upon the newborn Niemas, who was gently leaning against his mother. "I--Immortal?" she stammered. "But, my son can't possibly be..."
"It's possible, Biransa," Ecco said, "You were close to giving birth when the Asterite gave all of you the same powers I have in order to fight. Niemas must have gotten the same powers through you."
Sawtooth started translating for the whale again. "No matter how immortality is gained, the immediate birth of one has not been achieved, ever, until now." The whale paused, almost as if gasping in pain. "My time is about nigh...but I can immediately transport you back to the north waters to face my brothers in paradise."
Scaroth growled. "No, not yet! I am not going to allow taking a newborn calf with us, immortal or not, into battle against those fiends!"
"You have no choice," the Seer replied via Sawtooth, "The Seers can no longer hold our paradise at bay. Only five immortals led by the one chosen by the gods and a holder of the Keystone Song can penetrate and free it."
Sawtooth shook his head in reply. "But I can't sing it that well!"
"And Niemas is only a baby, he can't fight or sing yet!" Biransa added as she sheltered the calf beneath a pectoral fin.
The whale sang again, but its last few lines were cut off as a large, swirling vortex of light started to engulf the entire group.
All Sawtooth could make out was, "No choice...good luck...immortal...chosen ones..." The last words of a dying Seer.
The shock of hard, cold ice immediately touched Ecco's skin as he was thrust from the vortex. No longer did colorful coral beds dominate his vision, but instead the familiar sight of lifeless white glaciers and blocks of cold.
He heard the others as they regained their composures as well. Biransa immediately located her calf and stayed next to him, keeping him warm and safe as he chirped with fear at his new surroundings.
Sawtooth looked around curiously. "So this is the north waters...just as true as the stories..."
Ecco sighed. "Well, no sense in swimming idly. Let's find the pods. I hope they are still alive..."
But as they started for the ice, Scaroth halted and listened. "I can hear Diricha-Cariu!" he exclaimed and raced towards where he heard songs of pain and fear, the others close behind him.
When they found the matriarch, she was weakly trying to stay at the surface, her pectoral fins and chin bleeding almost heavily. As she was supported by Scaroth, she muttered as her eyes closed in rest, "The Seers..."
"What about the Seers?" Bro-aht demanded. "What happened, where are our pods?"
Cariu opened her eyes again. "Captured...they've been captured..."
