Ecco and Sarastro were bothing having serious doubts about the marathon swim they would have to embark upon if they hoped to seek counsel with the Big Blue. Both of them had heard songs tell of the open ocean being very cold and very dangerous for even a pod of singers to swim through, never mind a couple of dolphins which were trying to avoid a ferocious beast capable of disembowelling a blue whale with one bite. I must remember, though, that I am not completely alone out here, Ecco thought, she may only be as young and naïve about the seas as me, but at least she has the heart to swim with me. There was something becoming increasingly obvious to him the more time that he found himself in the company of the unusual Irrawady dolphin. She had talents and knowledge the like of which Ecco never knew existed in any region; he suspected even she had no idea how much ability she held with her hauntingly beautiful song. The first few days and nights they spent travelling without any major incidents occurring. They were painfully alert to every expanse of open sea they swam through, sonar waves being sent back and forth, and ready to reveal the presence of any predator in waiting. Ecco had no desire to come up against a pod of wandering orcas otherwise known as transients, or a great white shark, on his travels north. He recalled the songs his mother would tell him when he was a calf about the orcas which led a wandering life. They were huge beasts, some of them larger than the great white sharks, and they were feared for their appetite to other singers. He was told that if he encountered a pod of these fearsome warriors, they would not think twice to rip him fin from fin. However, the deep wound he had sustained at the jaws of Ligalotean served as a reminder that the young bottlenose had out swam bigger things than an orca or a great white shark. The salt water had healed the wound so that it no longer pained him and was slowly turning into a rather large scar. Catching fish as they swam, sinking into half sleep on their continuous journey north while their bodies kept up the determined pace, both dolphins could feel their muscles hardening and they were growing less tired with the strain their bodies were being put under. One day, not long after the sun had risen, Ecco could sense something very different in the seas. The waters around him were filled with tension and unease. It was a few seconds before he realised Sarastro was no longer swimming alongside him, but had stopped a few strokes behind him.
"Sarastro, what is the matter?" he enquired worriedly as he swam back to her side. Sarastro's eyes were darting frantically as she remained frozen in the spot she had stopped at.
"There is great danger here, Ecco," she faltered nervously, "somewhere in the gloom ahead of us. I can sense it!" Ecco rubbed his pectoral fin over Sarastro's in an attempt to soothe her, but he too was feeling very wary, having learned to trust the female's instincts very well.
"Perhaps we should keep going, whatever lies ahead of us we shall face together," he whistled in an attempt to soothe her. Sensing another presence approaching from behind him, Ecco turned to face whatever was coming to greet them. His heart seemed to have stopped beating and it was his turn to be paralysed with fear, as the largest fish he had ever seen came swimming into view. It was very long and lithely built, possessing the same elegance Ligalotean had displayed in her swimming patterns. On its sides were narrow gill slits, its eyes black and lifeless without emotion. Its teeth were displayed in a very cruel smile and the fish was only too happy to show them off to its intended prey.
"Going somewhere, air-breathers?" the cold, cruel voice was male, "but my friends and I were hoping you would join us for dinner." Out of the gloom from all around Ecco and Sarastro, at least a dozen more of these fierce-looking fish swam into view, all with the same hungry yet emotionless look in their eyes. The tops of their bodies was slate grey while the bottoms where a brilliant white colour. They began circling their prey impatiently; waiting to decide what manner in which to tear apart the dolphins they had trapped. Ecco surfaced for a breath, always followed closely by the large fishes.
"I know what fish you are, I would know you if I saw you in my half sleep," his song sounded braver than he felt, "you are white pointers, the great white sharks, white bringers of death. I heard that you were powerful and deadly creatures on your own, but if you really are so weak that you have to band together to hunt, I have to wonder if you really are worthy of the fear that singers have for you." This elicited the reaction from the shark which Ecco had secretly been hoping for. If these things are planning on killing me anyway, why should I give them an easy time of it? The shark swam back and forth in anger, enraged by the dolphin's taunting.
"Foolish mammal, taunting the creature which is ready to tear you apart," his cold voice brimmed with rage. Suddenly and without warning, the shark's eyes rolled back in their sockets and his teeth lunged forward so that Ecco and Sarastro could see the pale gums at the base of them. Ecco quickly dove underneath the shark before charging upwards, ramming the shark with his beak full force in the stomach. The shark groaned slightly in pain while the bottlenose continued a relentless attack upon the predator, ramming his beak wherever he could hit. The other sharks could only look on in curiosity as Ecco beat their leader to death with his beak. Soon, the shark drifted slowly down into the gloom, his eyes staring emptily at some fixed point which he was unable to see. The other sharks all launched into action at the same time, swarming around Ecco and Sarastro and trying to sink their teeth in wherever they could get a grip. A few of the sharks descended to the seabed after the corpse of their own, not paying heed to the healthy dolphins in very real danger of being slaughtered. Sarastro squealed in pain as she felt two sharks sink their teeth deeply into her elongated pectoral fins. She was determined not to meet Delphineus in this manner; she would not give in without a good fight. Thrashing back and forward, she threw her body backwards so her tail flukes came flying upward and she hit one of the sharks hurting her hard on the side of the head. While this was happening, Ecco was ramming any shark he could with his beak, trying to blot out the intense pain coursing through his body as more sharks kept sinking their teeth in and drawing more blood from the dolphin. As he fought back with every ounce of strength, hurting sharks and killing a few more with his powerful blows, Ecco was dimly aware of the stars on his melon glowing unnaturally bright. He could feel consciousness slipping away, along with what he felt was his life. As he felt himself slip into the abyss of blackness, Ecco heard a long, desperate song ring out. It was calling for help and there was what almost sounded like an answering burst of sonar.
In his mind, Ecco found himself in an unfamiliar stretch of ocean. This place he was in, it was barren and empty all around as far as his eyes and sonar could reach. Sarastro was nowhere to be found, the many sharks which had been attacking him were gone. He began to wonder idly if he was indeed dead, claimed by the 'hungry ones' as the singers were prone to calling the sharks. His body bore no sign of injury, even the healing wound which Ligalotean had inflicted upon him was not to be found. Suddenly, Ecco could sense the presence of another approaching. Once more, the young male could tell the stars upon his melon were glowing with an unworldly brightness. Turning apprehensively, Ecco found himself face to face with the largest dolphin he had ever seen in his life. It was the size of a mature male transient orca, a beautifully bright white in colour and its eyes were the same shade of aqua blue which Ligalotean's had been. Before Ecco could start, the dolphin sang strongly yet kindly:
"Young Ecco, do not fear me nor this hallowed place you are in. You are not dead as you may have originally thought, but merely in a state of unconsciousness. I came to see you for I have some information to share with you."
The authoritative voice was a male and Ecco began to wonder what manner of dolphin he was indeed face to face with.
"Does your information have anything to do with my star-like markings?" Ecco asked calmly. The white dolphin bowed his head in a cetacean manner of nodding his agreement.
"Your stars will glow brightly quite frequently from this point on in your journey," the dolphin explained, "they do that as your physical strength and abilities grow. As you may have guessed, Ecco, your journey has only just begun. I shall give you a song to aid you in such times as you find yourself overwhelmed by many adversaries, particularly the hungry ones. If you combine your sonar with your charge, this song shall confuse the hungry ones or creatures with shark blood in them." Ecco's mind immediately filled with what seemed like a large mountain of knowledge; the song he could use to escape the jaws of death was indeed long and complicated. He almost wondered how he was expected to perform such a complex song and was about to ask the white dolphin whether Sarastro would be better with this gift when the dolphin spoke.
"Sarastro does possess talents long forgotten, but it is not her destiny to learn songs such as this," his words were enigmatic and very confusing, "farewell, Ecco, and know I shall always be with you on your journey." Before he could enquire as to the mysterious dolphin's identity, Ecco could feel the ocean and the dolphin swirl away from him as his mind drifted to another plain.
His eyes, oh how his eyes felt so heavy. Ecco could barely bring himself to open his eyes, his entire body ached and stung from the onslaught it had been subjected to. A deep, rumbling song roused him to awaken; it was as soothing as the song his mother used to sing to him when he was but a young calf. Letting out a squeak of groaning, Ecco opened his eyes to find himself no longer supporting his own body in the water. He was resting on what felt like a flat, smooth black rock. It was not stationary and he noticed that the plethora of sharks were no longer anywhere to be seen; he was being carried gently through the water at a pace which was not too fast nor was it too slow. Casting his eyes along the back of the benevolent presence, the young dolphin realised he was in the care of a humpback whale. The mighty tail flukes rose and fell in lazy, easy swoops which powered the mighty filter feeder on its way. The huge pectoral fins also rose in gentle sloping motions as the whale appeared to be in no major rush to be swimming anywhere and did not seem harassed at having a bottlenose dolphin riding just in front of its blowhole.
"I see that you are awake, young singer," the deep voice belonged to a mature female, "I did not hold much hope out for you or your odd looking travelling companion. My pod and I feared that we were too late to save you from the jaws of the hungry ones." Immediately, Ecco was jolted to full awareness as his eyes darted around frantically for any sign of Sarastro, his sonar working like mad trying to pinpoint her position. He relaxed only when his sonar detected her resting on the massive bulk of another humpback female just a few swim strokes behind him and the female which was carrying him along so effortlessly.
"May I ask of you, mighty singer, what happened?" Ecco's song was full of confusion which could not be hidden, "The last thing I recall was being surrounded by hungry ones, them eating me alive and dimly hearing a song of distress go out to which there was a response." The humpback surfaced for a breath, taking Ecco clear of the water which showed him it was in the complete dead of the night; he realised he had been out of it for most of the day. The stars of the constellation Delphineus were shining brightly and Ecco realised for the first time how his own stars seemed to be in the same order as the stars of the dolphin God. Wonder if that it more than mere coincidence. Once they were back beneath the waves, the female took a large gulp of seawater before starting to sing.
"I shall fill you in on your missing day, young singer," she rumbled, "my pod and I were swimming on our way north back to our feeding grounds, as we do every year once the breeding season is behind us. We had entered the widest expanse of the open ocean when we heard a song of distress which we knew came from a dolphin of some sort. I immediately replied to the call, hoping to let the sender know that help was on the way. In no time, we reached the area where several hungry ones were tearing into you and your friend, so we made short work of them. A few well aimed strikes of our tail flukes and most of them were dead, with only a handful surviving to speed away as fast as their tails could power them. Both you and your friend were floating unconscious and you especially were on the verge of death. We wondered if it was worth our time to carry you both along with us, as we believed you would not survive the day. In the end, we decided to let fate decide if you would thrive or perish, with us taking care of you both." Ecco tentatively rolled his eye backwards to survey the injuries he had sustained due to the great white sharks and was in complete shock at the damage they had caused; great teeth marks, multiple rips and tears into his previously unmarked and youthful looking hide all made him look a lot older than he actually was. They seemed to have stopped bleeding due to the salt water which was of some relief, although Ecco wondered how long it would be before he could swim without any pain or discomfort in the act. Lifting his body off that of his carrier, the young male swam beside her, gazing into her large brown eye as he swam.
"I appreciate the help you have given me, mighty one," he sang humbly, "I would not be alive now if not for you and your pod. My name is Ecco and my friend is called Sarastro. We were travelling to the far North when we were attacked by the hungry ones. Do you know anything about why they would attack in such a large school as they did back there?" The humpback cow gestured to her baleen-filled mouth where Ecco could see a rather large and tasty looking herring had gotten stuck. Understanding her hint, he lunged forward to take the offered morsel and it felt like the best meal he had ever had in his life.
"The hungry ones are scared and restless," she replied in a tone of mournful worry, "they fear the thing which swims the deepest depths and has no name. All singers, including the sei and blue whales, swim in fear of this monster as well. It is said that none who encounter it survive to tell others of what happened." Ecco took a deep breath at the surface, ready to tell the humpback what he knew.
"That's not entirely true, matriarch," he sang nervously, "Sarastro and I faced the silent killer but a few moons ago. We managed to escape, although not entirely without harm as I did sustain a rather nasty bite on my right flank. The beast in question goes by the name of Ligalotean and she seems to have something against all singers of the sea. We do not understand what exactly; we know little of the monster as does every other inhabitant of the sea. The only option we have is to seek counsel with the Big Blue, as we managed to really irritate Ligalotean by escaping. Every dawn that we swim, we believe that we are being pursued and are in danger of being sent to Delphineus by that thing which swims after us. Hopefully the Big Blue can enlighten us to where this beast came from and hopefully, how we can fight back." The humpback's eyes lit up in amusement, as she contemplated the bravery of the small singer swimming beside her and the yet smaller singer still being carried behind her. Both of them were willing to face a creature at least ten times the size they were, in order to restore peace to their ocean home.
"My name is Wavediver, young Ecco," she rumbled, "I am indeed as you guessed the matriarch of my pod. Not too long ago, I gave birth to a young male calf which swims just beneath me. Every dawn and night which passes, I worry that this Ligalotean will catch up with us and rip me and my pod apart. If you and your funny looking friend are searching for a way to defeat her, then we shall do all we can to help you on your journey. No hungry one shall attack you as long as you swim within a pod of healthy humpback whales. I want my son to survive to adulthood without fear of being hunted. We are swimming the same way as you, although we stop short of where the ice sheets begin. That is where our feeding grounds lie. If you wish, you may stay with us, feed on herring with us and rest your weary bodies on our backs as we swim." Ecco could hardly contain his joy at this turn of fortune which seemed to have come his way. Swimming back to where Sarastro was resting, the bottlenose couldn't stop clicking and squeaking happily as he saw his friend alive although even more badly injured than him; her enlarged pectoral fins were badly ripped, her dorsal fin had almost been ripped cleanly off her back and her back and body were criss-crossed with teeth marks where many sharks had attempted to take large chunks away. Her piercing eyes, which were a unique mixture of brown and green, still had a look of determination and strength in them. It seemed to Ecco that no hungry one would ever break the spirit of his Irrawaddy companion, and for this he silently thanked whoever was listening.
"Sarastro, thank you for sending out a song of distress when you did!" he called loudly and happily, "Not only did these humpbacks come to our rescue, but their matriarch has agreed to give us safe passage to the North waters. We are free to travel with them, regain our strength and we shall not be attacked as long as we are in their companionship. How are you feeling, my brave friend?" Sarastro gently rubbed one of her torn pectoral fins against one of Ecco's, her eyes showing how relieved she was at seeing her friend alive.
"I have felt much better, Ecco," her haunting song carried a tone of amusement, "but I believe I shall survive. I was able to send out sonar for help just before I slipped into the darkness. That is truly a good thing that the matriarch will see us safely to the end of our journey, I have no desire to fight anything else." Ecco clicked in his manner of laughing at the comment she had made. He could tell she was still very weary, so he caught her large herring which swam past him in an attempt to get out of the path the mighty humpbacks were swimming in. Once she had eaten, Sarastro let her eyes close as the need to keep them open once more became too great. Satisfied she would be fine soon, Ecco swam back to where Wavediver was swimming as he too felt the extent of his injuries fatigue him. Curling up on the smooth head of the giant, the young bull let his mind drift into half sleep.