Chapter -55: The Tales of the Tide
A fisherman must cast their line early if they want to eat. That's the motto any good man of the sea must follow.
Aquamoria lives by those words every day, putting their grit and muscles into catching their daily meals.
It ain't a thankless job, thanks to the community being as tight knit as their fishing lines. Children are expected to learn how to fish from a young age so they can help society function.
The general vibe of this Tribe has always been one of relaxation even during the more stressful parts of the war.
And today, on another peaceful morning, Brine's gonna spend some time with that precious little pearl he calls a daughter.
At a little below eight years old she's growing like seaweed and her energetic footsteps have dotted the sand all around.
Brine's been struggling to keep pace with her at times and does so with a smile. The way she carries herself like the sunlight cresting the horizon is a sight to behold, a real source of pride in him raising her so far.
He tasked himself with carrying a few spears bound by a net while she held an empty weaver's basket. There were a couple things they needed to start their morning and so they made their way towards the palm trees along the west coast.
The small group of trees had grown into a healthy little forest rubbing fonds with the greenery of Tanglefae. And where there were palm leaves, there were coconuts aplenty.
Once under the shade Brine craned his head back to look for the ripest, brownest coconut while his daughter danced around him, trying to do the same.
He slowed his pace and with a light laugh said, "Ha ha, you'll get yer coconut milk Tina."
She bumped his left hip as she came to a stop and smiled, "Daddy?"
"Yeah dear?"
"Can I get the coconut this time?" She said, squeezing her tiny fists up below her chin to push her enthusiastic smile up, then fluttering her eyelashes to great effect.
"Hmmm, I dunno..." Brine began to pull the bundle of spears down his arm, looking at her with some mild-mannered doubt, "Ya think yer up to the task?"
"Absolutely!" She cheered and jumped.
"Ooooh alright," He had already pulled a spear from the binding, one more apt for her size, "Here ya go."
He then patted her on the back as she clasped it like the most precious of things, "Make yer daddy proud."
She nodded feverishly. Brine then bent down next to her and gestured towards the tree two marks away from them.
"That one looks good. Now remember what I've taught ya..."
Tina went "Mmm hmm!" and he stepped aside. Her grip on the spear was tight, she was spreading her feet just like he taught her, and her gaze looked like it could pick up a fly from miles away.
"HAAA!" She shouted as the spear flew from her hand towards the coconut...Only for it to limp near the end and go hurtling into the ground.
"Awww..." She said, shoulders hung.
Brine chuckled but was close to feeling that joy of pride again.
She immediately turned towards him and asked, "One more try! I can do it!"
Brine shrugged and flicked his hand up, "I ain't in any rush. Take as many tries as ya want, dear."
She scrambled over to the spear, pulled it up, and returned to where she was, taking her time skipping along her footprints.
She then repeated her stance but this time, Brine bent down and gently firmed her grip around the spear, "Don't let go until the LAST moment."
She firmed her gaze and nodded. He felt ok letting go, and after a few seconds to get herself ready she flung the spear with more faith in herself.
And when you do that, you'll always hit your mark.
The coconut was knocked off the stem and hit the sand. The force of Tina's toss was so mighty that she fumbled her balance and landed on her hands and knees.
Staring at the fallen coconut made her stand back up and run over to scoop it and the spear up, gesturing the solid fruit to her dad and grinning.
"Ha! Keep throwing like that and you'll be spearing large fish in no time!"
After collecting the coconut in the basket the two of them alternated knocking more of them out of the trees until they had five.
This brought them nearer to the edge of the forest and with it, Tina ended up wandering off towards the brushes, puzzling Brine.
"Oi, Tina, get back here, it ain't time for us to go there yet."
Tina stood on her toes and hovered over the edge of the bushes with her hands waved out by her hips, "Acaaaai, I seeeee you!"
That sing-song voice lured a small, rose-haired girl out of the leaves. She had on a brown headband and a leafy shawl over her shoulders, with lots of ivy and leaves covering her upper body. She had green, bushy shorts on too.
With a small grin the little girl whispered, "Hi Tina."
"Oh if ain't Carmine's little bud," Brine said in his welcoming tone as he approached the bushes, "How ya doing today?"
Acai nodded and left Brine to interpret, "Good?"
She nodded a little faster and he smiled, "Well that's wonderful!"
Acai then turned her head and asked, "Are you picking co-co-nuts?"
"You bet!" Tina cheered, "Want to join us?"
Acai gasped but then sunk into the leaves, shaking her head while whispering, "Dad says I can't leave the forest..."
"Aw, shell shucks!" Tina reached out and grabbed Acai by the hand, leaving the young girl dazzled like she was being taken away by a prince in shining armor.
But when Tina tried to pull, the bushes pulled back, rustling around with clear and dangerous agitation.
Tina let go and Acai pouted, looking embarrassed by the will of the leaves shoving her back to safety.
Brine grinned and sighed, "Ividae..."
He then had to make his eager daughter relent by mentioning, "Sorry, dear. We oughta respect her father's wishes..."
He then mumbled out the corner of his mouth, "Don't wanna wind up causing trouble like Sarajin did..."
Tina flexed her abundant positivity with a cresting smile and then told Acai, "It's ok! I'll come visit you later!"
"Oh!" She opened her eyes and then reached into her baggy pants to pull out a small wood carving. It was an attempt at making a rose but the petals looked chunky and unfinished.
She nevertheless handed it off to her friend between her palms and declared, "Here! I've been working veeeeery hard on this all week!"
Once the carving was plopped into Acai's hands, Tina tucked her arms behind her back and wiggled herself around.
"T-Thanks...!" Acai cheered like a chipmunk.
"Heehee! I want to carve wood with you sometime, Acai! It's so much fun!"
"It does look fun..." Acai whispered with a hint of sadness, "Mom does it too."
"Really?" Tina would have kept up this conversation forever had her stomach not started grumbling like water bubbling off the surface.
Brine then remarked, "Morning's wasting. Time for breakfast."
With a timid laugh Tina waved her friend off and hollered, "See you later!"
Then father and daughter returned home and had a nice meal of coconut milk and fresh oysters to kick start their morning.
And then they playfully splashed water on each other's faces to clean off, readying themselves for a fun day out at sea.
They had spears, fishing rods, hooks and some good bait from the forest. All they needed now was a boat.
As they left the house Brine flexed his bicep and remarked, "Ya ready to catch a whopper of a trout, Tina?"
Tina bounced and threw her fists sky high, "I'm ready!"
Brine then waved his hand to the open sea and shouted, "Then off we row!"
"Heh heh!" She laughed at his obvious pun.
On their way to the boats at the dock they ran into Lulu hauling a massive shelled creature with a bunch of slimy limbs sticking out, a couple having notable bite marks.
"Oy, what're ya two rascally guppies up to this morning?"
"Ha, whaddya think teach?" Brine chuckled.
"FISHING!" Tina cheered.
"Gonna try and row further out to sea today?" Lulu inquired.
Brine nodded and Lulu reeled her head back in laughter, "Ha! Well, best of luck to ya. Got some real crabby biters out there."
She patted the shell of the beast she tamed and gave a warning with maybe a bit too much pride in her tone, "Was lucky to get this skin sucker back."
"Well daddy's tougher than any sea creature!" Tina declared while throwing her fists at the air.
Lulu freed a hand to rub her hair, then with a toothy smirk whispered, "Yeah, s'long as he don't take a dip in the water."
"Teeeeach..." Brine groaned with his arms impatiently crossed before his chest.
Lulu grinned and then hauled her catch off, "Bring back something tasty!"
Brine hung his head and sighed, "She ain't ever gonna slow down, is she?"
"I heard ya, ya salty trout!"
Brine flinched and then gestured for the dock laughing it up like a loon, "C'mon Tina! Let's keyhaul outta here before she turns around!"
"Run for it!" Yelled the laughing Tina.
The two loaded up a medium-sized boat and then took one oar each to head out to sea. From there it was just them, the crisp morning air, and the smell of seawater for miles around.
Brine allowed himself to take a moment and relax. There was plenty of water to cover before they would find the prime sealife to catch.
New horizons that have gone unexplored. Plenty of fish uncaught...Perhaps out here, he would find the Golden Reefquiem.
Perhaps out here, he'd find...
"Daddy?" Tina's minor chirp of attention drew his gaze away from the forming silhouette laid upon a nighttime dream...
She then called out to him with a bit of concern, "You stopped rowing."
Brine grasped his oar tighter and immediately resumed rowing with a smile, "Was just enjoying the view."
Tina smiled back and looked out across the sparkling surface, wanting her abundant positivity to be carried across its dampened ears, "I love the sea!"
"Careful, you'll scare the fish."
Tina sat back down and continued rowing. A little further into the sea, as the sandy warmth of home was replaced with the chill of morning's rise.
With her body shivering the young girl turned to her dad and asked with eagerness gleaming from her eyes, "Hey daddy, can you tell me a story?"
"Sure, dear. We've got some time to spare. Which one ya wanna hear today?"
Tina sucked her lips in and then with a pop said, "The one about the lady of the sapphire sea!"
"Ha ha, that one AGAIN?" Brine said, more playful than offended. A deep sigh set the mood, and with his body at ease he told the tale in earnest.
"There once was a beautiful lady whose hair was said to glisten like emeralds.
It was told that she could perform an elegant dance capable of easing the bitter feud between the moon and sea.
The sea took the shape of man with a heart of coral and eyes of shimmering gold. He let his heart be weighed with love, not hate, and like the sea his arms were wide to spread mirth and love to all the people below him.
The moon envied the sea, craving admiration and love that he could not have.
The moon spun a yarn of lies in the realm of dreams where it was at its mightiest, wanting the people of the sea to view the man as a beast who sought to swallow them whole, and claim their love for themselves.
But the sea was simple in their desires. His heart was true. He loved his people. But not as much as he loved the lady that danced upon his waves.
The lady's heart belonged to the sea, but yearned to bring both sides together. Thus she continued to dance. Thus she continued to suffer...
Her crestfallen body began to lose its luster to the moon's duplicitous tongue. The moon tugged at the sea, planting a lie in the lady's head that it was trying to drag her down into his being.
But in doing so, only brought them closer together. For the moon was pale of heart, while the sea's grand expanse offered the warmth of its arms.
The moon was enraged, it cast aside its pearl-clad mask and began churning the seas with its pull.
The lady had shunned her duty for love, and the moon's rage could no longer be quelled.
If nothing was done, the moon would destroy the people under the sea's protection.
The sea held on, begging the lady to have faith in him to weather the raging tides.
Torn between duty and love...she chose duty, in order to express her love.
Her fondness for the sea gave her the courage to depart from the land and sea, and become one with the skies above, where she'd dance for the moon's eyes only.
The sea was secure, but the man's heart decayed until brittle.
It wasn't until some time later that he realized the value of the gift the lady had left behind.
Their love had produced an heir. A fair maiden with the lady's hair and his heart. Thus, proving that their love was not a fleeting dream."
Brine's smile sank as he whispered the last part of the tale, "So every night, the man of the sea gazes upon the moon, hoping to see the lady dance one more time."
Tina's cheeks were pink and she was squirming around with peckish delight. Once she settled down she placed her hands on her cheeks and swooned, "What a romantic story..."
She then sighed, and even that carried her energy, "I feel so sorry for the lady though."
"...So do I." Brine whispered.
"How'd you get so good at telling stories, daddy?"
"Y'know...I don't know."
They stopped rowing halfway out to sea and after replacing their oars with fishing rods, they cast them out and waited to see what they could find.
It was nice and quiet. A time to collect one's thoughts. Of which, Tina had plenty to share.
"Hey daddy, what's your favorite type of seafood?"
He looked over his shoulder and gave an excited, "Now that's a good question. I've enjoyed grilled eels, oysters, those toothy-ink squirters we found off the east coast recently were pretty tasty..."
"Soooo, slimy, wiggly stuff?"
"Ha ha, guess so!" Brine declared.
"I like clams!" Tina shouted, "Cause when you look at them, they're kinda shaped like a heart!"
"...That so?" Brine said with a brief flicker of intrigue, "Never noticed. Always been too busy shucking the meat out."
His line gave a mighty tug and he manned his position with great vigor to reel it in. It was just a larger than average trout with sharp gills, nothing too special.
But it went into the bucket, just as any gift from the sea deserved.
They kept at it for a couple hours and only managed to snag a few good sized meals for later in the day.
It was only Tina tiring out that forced Brine to end their trip prematurely. She kept holding on tight to that rod like it was an extension of her body but she couldn't hide her dozing off eyes and bobbing head.
"Knowin' ya dear, you'll outlast yer ol' man before I know it."
"Alright, I'll row us back." He set the rods on the floor and then gestured towards himself. She moved away from her position and laid her head against his chest, cuddling up with her legs curled up against her body.
And through this trance-like tiredness she mumbled, "Daddy...the sea's crying."
He brushed her hair until she was ready to close her eyes, "Silly girl, the sea doesn't cry."
Once she was relaxed in his lip he paddled their way back to the shore safe and sound.
He used every square inch of his body to carry the tools, catches, and his daughter back all at once. This led to an awkward encounter with his teacher along the way to his hut.
"Want some help?" She offered with a snicker directed at his hunchbacked stature.
"I've still got my sea legs, teach!" He responded with an audible grunt.
Lulu propper her fists on her hips and shouted, "I can sea that!"
"Oh bother..."
"Ha ha ha!" Lulu nevertheless stood beside him and with a caring look at the sleepy Tina on his back, she slowly grew more somber until finally leaning towards his ear to whisper, "Any luck?"
Brine shook his head, "Still no sign of that stubborn fish."
"Ya can't keep this up, boy."
"But it's my-"
"I ain't talkin' about the fish, I mean the lyin'. Yer girl's growin' up so fast and she ain't a shellhead like her ol' man."
Brine glared at her but it was punctuated with a hint of acceptance towards his flaws, and the harsh reality of this pleasant time spent.
Lulu placed a hand on his shoulder and told him, "She needs to know who her mother is..."
Brine shrugged her off and grunted, "I ain't a kid, stop treatin' me like one."
"Then quit being stupid," Lulu laid him out with her bluntness, "Yer baby's a normal, happy girl. Ya've been lucky she ain't shown any symptoms from having one of them's blood in her veins."
She then threw out a sigh and murmured, "Y'know, whatever. Maybe I shouldn't give so much of a damn. Ain't my child..."
She let go and tried to return to her peppy self, "You worry about you. I'll butt out. When yer done putting her down for a nap though, do me a favor."
"Yeah?"
"Cook me one of them fish ya caught. I'm stavin'." She grinned.
"Cook one yerself teach!" Brine laughed back at her with an ease of mind.
They then parted ways as Brine entered his hut and set things down one at a time, ending with helping his daughter slide comfortably under the bed sheets made of kelp.
After tucking her in he saw her mouth move and leaned in closer to hear her mumble, "Goodnight...mommy..."
His heart sank and that was the last straw on his will to do anything else for the rest of the day.
With a heavy sigh he silently pulled himself under the sheets beside her and then pressed his body against hers to give her warmth.
Leaning against her ear, he whispered with a tear rolling down his cheek, "I'll bring ya mother back, Tina. I swear on me bones..."
He held her gently, a father and daughter laying down on a bed built for three...
Out on the open sea, many fishermen still cast their lines out to catch fish.
But it seemed to be a slow day, like the fish did not want to come out to play.
And worse, the waters were rough, threatening to throw the fisherman out to the mercy of the sea predators.
They didn't know. This was uncharted waters for them.
The seas were upset. Something had come to disturb it.
All sea life was nurtured by the mother Titan, Coralcea. It's waters, a breeding ground for the meals that would feed it's children on land.
So who would threaten the life of an innocent mother?
It was a twisted irony that it would be a mother in her own right, fighting for survival at the cost of another's life...
Beneath the churning waves and in depths so deep that light felt like a figment of fantasy, the mighty whale swam feverishly away from its pursuer, the lady named Torren.
With bellowing moans it's blubbery hide excreted blood from its coral fins and used them to throw off their unwanted company.
With desperation hanging off baggy eyes, Torren sped through the pressurized depths illuminated by her aura. Her hand guided the sea waters to slice through the bloody coral and forever dangled out, desperate to touch the Titan's hide.
Her Drive was her only shield against the crushing depths, allowing to control the pressure of water around her body and, if pushed enough, would increase it around the Titan to suffocate it.
But she didn't want this.
"Just give up the Wellspring!" She begged internally, her cries dissolving into the heartless sea.
And every time she reclaimed the Titan's location, it would force her to fight for even a scrap of the power it guarded.
It could just as easily crush her in retaliation so why didn't it already, she couldn't focus, her mind was a whirlpool.
Further, further, darker, darker, go in and die, the Titan could go anywhere, the sea was its domain and she was but a germ invading it, infecting everything she touched.
"Please please please!" She was able to surpass the Titan's speed with a burst of effort, her eyes wide with pain.
But suddenly the Titan got their second wind and darted ahead, leaving turbulence in its wake.
Torren was so, so close, but give up and drift away, she couldn't let this end here. SOMETHING had to give.
Her heart raced and she swung her hand out, flexing her power to turn the Titan's tides against it.
In mere moments the Titan was being crushed on all sides and its echoing moans dragged the waves above down with it.
Torren released her grip and gasped, murderer, and then swam over to the Titan. Its flailing put her in danger of being cut by its fins, but she had to focus.
She needed to comfort the ailing beast with her aura.
She needed to perform her duty though...
The looming specter of Lilith hung over her shoulder, the dread cold of her voice leaving kindness to suffocate, much as Coralcea did now.
Torren made her choice, like she had any other, and used her aura to pull a part of the Wellspring out.
The water felt hotter and even her Drive couldn't keep that at bay. She had to accept another measly portion of the greater whole, and as the water settled down, Coralcea made its escape.
The only thing more crushing for her than failure was guilt. Too. Bad. Live with it.
But this WAS more than the usual amount she brought back.
Maybe this time Lord Borealis will be satisfied.
Maybe this time...Lilith won't beat her down verbally. You like it don't you? Squirming...DOG.
Torren trembled and retreated to the surface undetected by anyone, and then made haste back to Sancturia.
There, she returned to the palace, where Gabriel moved off his post to voice his worries, "Lady Torren?"
She curled her chin against her chest and dashed past him.
She didn't want to imagine what state she was in. Broken, like your dead mother.
She darted for Lord Borealis' door but right as she was reaching out to open it, it clicked, and slowly opened...
The cold was released, and out walked Lilith, the towering presence that draped a shadow over her life.
Lilith tilted her head with rightful scorn and then shut the door behind her, twisting that knob to let the locking sound sink in.
"You're back..." She said, coming across as approachable at first, before the depth of the Wellspring laid in Torren's arms truly entered her view, "And with another mere fragment at that..."
Torren got on her knees and presented her catch to her fellow Sage, and they swiped it out of her hand without hesitation.
Torren's hands then fell upon her knees and let it all out in a single gasp, "T-That should be enough now...right?"
The piercing arrow flung from Lilith's gaze made her heart turn to stone. With a blunt "Hmph...!" the Sage of Light illuminated the pathetic shell of a woman and brought her uselessness right to the surface with every scathing word that followed.
"You don't get to decide when it's over. Is this complete? NO?"
"B-But-"
Lilith pulled her head back until her eyes were drenched in shadows, "But what?"
A dog doesn't get to bark.
Torren squeezed her fingertips against her and bit her lower lip as Lilith brought herself closer to her level, but continued to hang her head just enough over her.
She held the back of her head and mumbled into her ear, "You have never tapped into the feeling of true power and never will. This ENDS when the Wellsprings, completed, are in my hands."
Torren gasped and heaved as her dripping venom hung over her neck, fangs armed to bite.
Lilith pushed her fingertips deeper into her nape and then dragged her up onto her feet, keeping her from standing taller than her.
"You want this to go faster?" She then spoke with a scary ease of tone, "Kill the Titan. Your Drive should be worth that much at least."
"T-They're just a creature swimming in the sea..." Torren tried to mumble out.
"That's right. A creature," Lilith spoke with utter contempt, "No more easily gouged out than the trout those workaholic fools of Aquamoria consume on a daily basis."
She then bit her teeth down and growled, "Why is this so difficult for these fools to grasp..."
Lilith released her grip and then turned her head aside with a scoff, "So, you'll do it right next time?"
"You will perform your duty as a Sage properly, yes?"
"Of course you will. You have nowhere else to go."
"Nobody will look out for you like I do."
"Any love you thought you had is empty compared to mine."
"So you WILL return to your chambers, Torren, and tomorrow...you WILL try again. And again. And again. Until you do it the RIGHT way."
Lilith lashed her hand out like a snake's mouth and squeezed Torren's chin to force the head back, "Am I understood?"
Her head was guided to nod many times, and then Lilith let go, securing the Wellspring fragment beneath her robes and tucking her hands into her sleeves.
"Then run along. I have business to attend to."
Torren turned tail and crawled back to her room shaking at the knees and barely able to throw herself onto her bed without wanting to cry.
Panting, tired, hopeless, miserable, why are you still standing?
She tossed her fist against her tear-filled eyes and bemoaned, "W-Why...? What have I done wrong...?"
A normal human would have succumbed to this grief and anguish already. How lucky.
She wanted to dance her sorrows away, but her ability to do so was far more scarce as the collar wrapped tighter around her neck.
And even if she had the freedom she once had, how could she bring herself to face the love she betrayed?
She still loved Brine. She loved the child they had together, even if that memory was of a newborn who has no doubt long since grown healthy.
"B-But I'm an Aurian...I don't belong anywhere else. I was a fool to think differently, so why...?"
Fragments of her memories scratched at her nerves.
A routine, an addiction, formed from lost love. Every night she'd return to the sea where she first met Brine.
And every night he'd be there, staring longingly towards the moonlit sea. Their eyes met without his awareness of such.
He came prepared with a blanket to rest upon, and maybe a few bits of food to share.
He always came alone. Or perhaps...she refused to acknowledge the times that another person was there. Because you're a rotten person and a shitty mother.
Torren raised both her fists over head and started beating down on her eyes until tears were replaced with swelling pain.
"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" She begged.
You can make it stop. You have the power.
Suddenly, she thrust her eyes open and saw a knife made of pressurized water pointing at the center of her face.
She blinked and it was gone.
She blinked and it was there.
STOP. HESITATING.
She twisted herself onto her side and threw her arms down, breathing heavily until she was running out of air, and her body forced itself to tire out...
Her last tears for this day were shed with the bitter realization that she was trapped between two wants, and that she could only pursue duty because it kept her safe.
How...pitiful.
The voices dulled out into silence and from there, Torren let herself fall unconscious, whispering one last cry for help...
"L-Let me make it through another day..."
"My duty is the only thing I have left..."
"Let me do one thing right..."
"Let me do one thing right..."
"Let me do one thing right..."
"Brine..."
A mantra of sorrow, sung by the dancing lady of the sapphire sea...
Next Time: When Did We Get So Old?