From the notes of Dr. Chen:

Oh elder one. Us and our kin give thanks to you.

Drowned Mountain, hear our praise. Forgive us for how we have wronged you.

Gojira! I cast your name. Wash away misfortune and let the light of Mosura bless us.

-Common daily prayer from Mahara city-state

1806 A.C.

Agnif faced his enemy, a rival he had fought time and time again since he had arrived.

He shifted beneath his armor. Sweat trickled down his forehead which bore no helm. Somehow he knew this wouldn't be his last battle. His enemy stood on the other side of the great wooden wall. Agnif gripped his sword in hand. As if in answer to an invisible challenge the rival swung his sword in front of himself, cutting a clear threat through the air. Then, the man charged and leaped over the wall. He seemingly leaped several times his height to clear it. Landing on his feet he charged at Agnif. But Agnif stood ready for him, his legs spread out in a strong stance.

The enemy swung his sword with a yell.

Wood cracked against wood as both swords clacked each other. The deck of the ship moved slightly as both mummers performed in front of the sailor crowd. Agnif half-wished he had a wooden shield for this act, but it wasn't worth the extra weight. He could tell his younger brother, Josiah, had begun to grow tired. His swings carried less and less energy as the mummer's battle went on. Luckily the end came soon and Agnif struck him harmlessly on his chest armor, sending him to the deck. The crowd of sailors flung cheers and copper coins at the feet of the brothers. Agnif took a bow before helping Josiah up.

They both turned to look out at the sea as it rolled past the ship. It had been ten days since this crew had set sail. The mummer's act had improved the crew's mood well enough. But a collective gasp from portside shattered it. Many heads turned to the direction of the gasps. The gasps turned to yells. Several men rushed over to the rail. Some of them looked down. Some pointed downward.

Agnif thought he heard it wrong when the sailors yelled, "It's Mun!"

"Are you sure?"

"I have eyes! He's treading water! throw me a rope!"

Agnif and Josiah ran over to the railing as the sailors did. They looked over the edge to see the child's frail form being pulled up from the watery claws of the sea. He had tangled himself in the rope. The sailors pulled at the rope together in frantic haste. Agnif grabbed what part of the rope he could reach, helping to pull the boy over the rail and onto the deck.

He remembered Mun from when he and Josiah had first gotten on with the crew. He was an orphan child of no more than twelve, his parents flung overboard during a storm in a previous voyage. During the ninth day of the current voyage Mun had ended up in the sea by some curse. Agnif never saw him go over, but he had seen the pale, frightened face bobbing up and down as the current pulled him away.

But now, as the sailor known as Socoro knelt at Mun's side the boy's face showed no signs of fright. He slowly got to his knees, breathing heavily. The sailors clamored among themselves, amazed that the gods had sent the child back to the boat. The priest sent a prayer of thanks to Gojira.

"Mun, are you well?" Socoro asked. "Talk to us."

Mun looked up at Socoro. But his eyes were blank. "I am," he said. His voice, deeper than usual, tolled like a solemn funeral bell. "But the ocean is not."

"What? What do you mean?"

"What did you see?" another sailor asked.

"I saw it. The place where the sky meets the sea."

"What in Mosura's name are you on about?"

"The truths. Out there. The sky is alive, did you know?"

Agnif began to feel an unwelcome prickle in his skin. As Mun talked, it spread throughout his body like a swarm of crawling insects. Eventually, he decided he'd rather be in the cabin. He nodded to Josiah. Josiah nodded back. Then they both departed to their cabin. He needed to forget the strangeness of Mun. He wanted those blank eyes out of his mind.

But when they performed again, Less copper coins flew their way. Most of the sailors were distracted from the mummer's act by Mun. He wandered around the deck, eyes still dead. He hadn't been the same since going overboard. The Maiden's crew had saved his body, but his soul remained lost. Drowned perhaps. The boy spoke about many things, most of them queer and frightening. He talked about the ocean being silent and the only song coming from the heavens.

He spoke of an endless, permanent storm that looked upon him with three faces. From his lips the crew learned about colossal orbs in the sea, electric vibration visible on the surface, and the horrific expansion of the ringed horizon.

The boy had clearly gone mad. Adrift at sea for days, treading water would exhaust the body. The miserable loneliness would exhaust the mind. Mun had cracked, and the matter was no less simple than that.

At least, that had been the comforting answer. The crew's priest however, wasn't so sure.

The captain asked him, "Could he perhaps have seen the face of the Drowned Mountain?"

The priest shook his head and wiped his orange cloak. "This can't be the work of Gojira."

"Could he have seen any of the Ancestor Gods at all?"

"This doesn't sound like an Ancestor God, but the boy's utterings do bring to mind something I heard from the mouth of an Azir many moons ago. She told me about a dark one in the heavens who will scourge the land and sea. She called it Mandandare Aqenomba. Three heads."

"She saw this in a vision?"

"This is what the vision told her, my captain."

Agnif knew just enough about the work of azirs to be certain that the woman would never tell of what she actually witnessed in the vision. Every azir took her visions to her grave. And perhaps Mun's madness was the clarity of a god, a clarity of the sea. But Agnif desired to think no more of it. He left the deck then, descending the stairs with Josiah.

They entered their shared cabin. Agnif closed the door and began helping Josiah out of his armor.

"You've done well today," he told Josiah.

"As did you."

"Don't we always?" Agnif chuckled.

"Still," Josiah said. "I can't help but notice the poor payment."

"Remember," Agnif said, removing a painted wooden plate from him. "Copper coin is better than no coin. In two days we will be swimming in gold."

"I could do with gold now. Not two days."

Agnif finished removing Josiah's armor. He turned around and Josiah started removing his. "Hey," Agnif said. "Remember what Father told us."

Josiah let out an impatient sigh before Agnif spoke again. "Men are built to suffer," he said. "We must suffer so our families have what they need."

Josiah removed a plate from Agnif's side. "What families do we have, Agnif?"

"None yet," he said. "So we suffer for the families in our future. Think of it, Josiah. Our wives. Our children. They will have better lives because of us. Because of the things we do today and tomorrow." Josiah nodded, but remained quiet as he pulled Agnif's wooden breastplate off.

Their father had been a wineseller. They had become mummers, improving their craft over the course of two years. When their father became sick and died Agnif and Josiah left their small village in search of a bigger one. At the village's dock they came across the crew of a ship known as the White Maiden. The sailors had no traveling mummers, so they eagerly brought the brothers onboard. It wasn't a bad way to make coin, though Josiah sometimes became seasick.

The ship headed toward Horifell, a village that spanned a chain of islands. Fortunately, Gojira had answered the priest's prayers and sent them smooth seas. The priest was from Sayr, a city far north. He wore a fiery orange cloak. His hair was a lion's mane dyed orange and white. As far as Agnif knew, he didn't preach for Gojira. He preached for the Tusked God of Sayr. Despite their differing faiths, the priest got on well with the rest of the crew.

Agnif hoped for them to meet Horifell's chief and earn their place in the chief's house, also known as the daisin. Once there, they'd perform for the chief and his children. It wouldn't take long for them to swim in gold and silver.

Josiah paused. "Do you feel that?"

Agnif felt it. The ship rocked a hair rougher than normal. "I do."

"Do you think it's a storm?"

"It may be."

But Josiah didn't become nervous. As he removed the last of Agnif's armor, his face lit up. "I want to see," with that he scrambled from the cabin. Agnif heard him thumping up the steep wooden steps to reach the deck. He had only two years on Josiah, yet he felt much older. It tickled him to see Josiah excited. He lingered in the cabin, pulling on his loin skirt.

The ship rocked again, harder this time. He followed the young man to the topside.

Arriving on the deck Agnif saw that the ship's activity had increased. Sailors dashed by, hauling lines. Someone shouted at them from the sterncastle in some Lemurian tongue. Agnif didn't see Josiah, but he did see Em on portside. Josiah became forgotten as he went to join her.

Em was the captain's sister. She was in her familiar bodice and straight blue skirt. She stared out over the waves as he came to the railing beside her.

"Hello, Agnif."

"The sky is sinister today, isn't it?" he asked.

"I'd say it's quite beautiful." Em said.

To Agnif, it looked sinister. Far in the horizon, a thick band of clouds met the blue sky. He sent a silent prayer down to Gojira to deliver them from the storm. They had to avoid it. He knew this crew by now. Years on rough waters had seasoned them. They'd avoid the storm.

"I cannot wait for tonight," Agnif said. "Once we're clear of the storm, the stars will look magnificent in the dark."

The wind picked up slightly. The white-tipped waves danced back and forth below them. The ship rocked. Sailors yelled back and forth.

"I must confess," Em said. "I half want to jump in the sea."

"I beg your pardon?"

She snickered. "You heard every word. Oh, you know how I get when I'm on the rum." Em said dismissively. Agnif could smell it on her breath, too.

"I believe you speak beautifully when the rum is on you." Agnif said. She laughed.

The wind picked up. A couple clouds sailed high above them. A thin sleet of rain swept over Agnif and his companion. She turned to regard him. It became a massive effort to keep from staring. Her hair was mostly braided except for two brown tendrils which framed her fair face.

"But don't you feel it, Agnif? Doesn't the wind rejuvenate you?"

Agnif shrugged, then found himself nodding. "There is a merry aspect to it." The squall caressed and cleansed his skin. The taste of the salt and sea spray refreshed his spirit. He wasn't sure if the wind or Em's gaze made him more intoxicated. He wanted to take her then, take her like a bride to the altar. But something possessed him to turn away from her and look at the bigger storm in the distance.

He felt the ship begin to turn. The squall above them suddenly died. The storm in the distance had grown darker. On the horizon it pushed the blue sky before it, turning it sea green at the very edge. Then, the clouds blinked with muted yellow lightning. Agnif became even more glad as the ship continued its turn. The squall that had just passed them over would be nothing compared to the behemoth of a thunderstorm far away.

He heard Em's voice. "Agnif," he turned to see that she had come even closer to him. Irresistibly close. "Where might I find your brother? Josiah, is it?"

He sighed, trying not to sound disappointed. "I haven't the faintest idea." Then, he realized that avoiding this storm would delay the White Maiden. Josiah wouldn't be pleased with that.

Agnif took Em by the hand. "Let's go find him." Em nodded and followed him. He led her below deck in the direction of his cabin. He wondered where Mun was as they went through the door. There they found Josiah sitting on the rug. He forgot all about the child.

"Did you hear the orange priest?" Josiah asked. "He believes we won't avoid the storm. He says it is too big. And it's going to Horifell." As soon as the frightened words left his lips Agnif rushed to quiet him.

"We will avoid it. And he's wrong. The storm won't hit the islands. Horifell is within our reach, brother. Getting there may take longer than we planned but we will see it through." He gritted his teeth. "I swear, by the Son of Mosura we will see it through."

Josiah looked at Em. "Is she going to huddle down here with us?"

"Of course I am!"

"Well, we'd better stay below for now."

As much as Agnif wanted Em to stay longer she left only after an hour to find the captain. Four more hours went by as the ship made course away from the storm. But as the hours passed the waves grew rougher. The cabin jerked and jumped, throwing the men to the floor. They felt each wave hammer the ship.

Agnif and Josiah scrambled to tie down everything loose on the ground. "Where do you think Em went?" Agnif asked, wanting to take their minds off the storm.

"How in the eight hells should I know?" Josiah said, half panicky. "I've seen the way you look at her, Agnif. I understand. Really, I do. But she is the captain's sister."

"So what?" Agnif retorted. The deck gave another violent heave, slamming him against a wall.

"So if you bed her, you may waste our chances with the chief. Remember?"

What a fool he had been. Agnif didn't know how protective the captain was of Em, but if she still had her maidenhead he would mislike a mummer taking it from her. They needed the captain on their side to get an audience with Horifell's chief. Agnif sighed, knowing Josiah was right. He nodded to his brother. The ship rolled and shuddered around them. Josiah nodded back.

From above, things started to come apart. The wind howled outside, ripping apart boards. Shouts and screams lanced their way through Agnif's nerves. The shrieks of tortured wood came down from above as they were torn from the boat. Booming thunder rattled everything in the cabin. The prospect of drowning oozed its way into his mind. No, it couldn't end that way. Everything he and his brother had done wasn't so they'd die like rats in a trap. He silently prayed a common prayer for Gojira.

Finally, the winds died down. The thunder still rumbled, but it seemed safe enough to leave the cabin. He left first, then Josiah , when Agnif reached the topside he quickly wished he hadn't. The blue sky had been driven back east and the heavens had turned green and threatening. The storm hadn't ended. It had merely given them respite. Agnif spun around in an exhausted, overwhelmed circle. Towering thunderheads surrounded the White Maiden from all sides. They raged like immense black beasts ready to trample the ship into a thousand pieces. The orange priest stood tall at the edge of the bow, shouting a common prayer to the gods.

But the clouds did not waver. They churned overhead like milk left on the kettle too long. The eastern blue sky receded further. The winds howled as the blue sky became smothered out of existence. The clouds came alive with yellow lightning. Golden bolts cracked the air, bathing the entire ocean in yellow. The clouds closed ranks around the ship and rain fell in vast sheets. Agnif struggled to hold onto the mast as his feet failed him. The screams of sailors came, thin and hysterical with terror. Several flailing bodies flew over the port side railing. Then the railing was broken and blown away.

Still the orange priest bellowed his prayer. But the clouds bellowed louder, roaring down at him with their thunder. The wind ripped at the ship with great invisible claws. Bright, golden lightning flashed above them in the clouds. Boards and boxes went flying all around him. Then he heard Josiah scream. The anguished sound disappeared, sucked into a void.

As the rain slapped at his face he turned his head in many frantic directions. "No, no, no! Josiah! Answer me, dammit!"

He got his answer. As he kept both arms wrapped around the mast his eyes fell on Josiah's struggling form. His hands had turned pale as they held onto the tattered railing on the starboard side. Josiah's eyes met his. "Josiah! Hang on! I'll come to you!" But his brother didn't get time to respond. A blinding flash of lightning came and the railing disappeared. Josiah had gone with it. Agnif turned up to the sky and screamed his agony and defiance. He received no answer except for the creaks and groans of the hull. His other half was gone, but perhaps not dead. Maybe if he could reach the water he could find him.

As he stared up the mast burst in a strike of golden lightning. The air filled with shards and splinters as his rain-lashed body flew backward. Something pierced his thigh and a stabbing pain came to his belly. He landed on the deck and with nothing to hold onto the wind dragged him toward the right edge. On the port side lightning struck, igniting a huge flame. The fire leapt up onto the last remaining sail. The entire thing bloomed like some massive, savage red flower. Still the priest chanted. He spoke in tongues, crying out and waving his arms in the air. But if Gojira heard him, He did not answer.

It was over. The voyage, all of it. Agnif laughed. Out of madness or fear, he laughed. He cackled. His cackles grew in voice and strength as the ship tilted again. He slid toward the edge, still laughing. Finally the wind dragged him, shrieking and insane, over the edge. He plunged into the freezing sea.

The black ocean held him in its grip. He sank, but quickly fought his way through the dark water. His head broke the surface and he spotted a floating barrel near him. He groped his way through the waves, gasping and spitting, until he felt the wood. He clung to it with a desperate strength he never knew he had. The ship drifted some way away from him. Its stink mingled with the salt of the water.

Still bleeding, Agnif looked skyward and briefly saw the priest at the bow of the ship. He stood with his arms outstretched, likely still praying. The flames surrounded him and in Agnif's detached mind he appeared like some sort of otherworldly angel. Behind him, the entire sail came down, slumping to the deck like a stupidly tall and thin corpse. A hail of embers came down with it, falling all around the priest. He didn't seem to notice. Lightning struck the ship and the entire front fell away. The priest disappeared, cloak and all, as if spirited up into the sky. Perhaps he was the last person on the ship. Agnif would never know.

Agnif floated with the barrel, wondering how his end would come. The black rain came down and the winds roared. He thought about sharks. Maybe they'd come and tear him to pieces. A wave swamped him, threatening to drown him. But he held onto the barrel like a stubborn rat. He spat out salt water. The storm and frothing sea continued consuming the White Maiden. Great chunks blew from the ship, dissolving into dust before his eyes. Finally, the ship turned on its left side, surrendering itself to the sea. He felt a powerful tug as it sank beneath the waves. But the barrel kept Agnif afloat. He figured it would make a fine coffin. He tasted blood in his mouth.

He thought of Em. She was a possible maiden. It was a shame he never got to tumble her around in bed. He thought of her and Josiah, having enjoyed the pleasure of sitting with both of them. They'd make for nice thoughts before he joined the Drowned Mountain in His watery kingdom. He could see both of their faces.

But the faces broke apart in front of him when the winds died down. The rain stopped and the black clouds gave way to a sickly yellow sky that looked down on him like a massive eye. The eye of the storm. Agnif began to understand what Mun had seen. The horizon expanded all around him, wondrous and terrifying. A force pulled him from his body down beneath the waves and he saw the long, multitudinous shadows and electric vibrations the child must have seen while adrift.

He was slingshotted back into his body with a jolt. The sounds of the sea stopped momentarily. The air itself seemed to freeze in place. Then something made the waterlogged hairs on his head and skin stand on end like grass. A queer sensation began to buzz in his ears. Then he sensed it, an immense presence right above him. Its smell flooded his nose and even forced its way down his throat. Something possessed him to look up into the eye of the hurricane.

Then he saw it. Three dragon heads craned through the yellow sky, each held by a long neck. The twisting horns swept back long and proud on each one. The gold reptilian heads stared down at the empty spot in which the ship had been, the ship whose name Agnif had forgotten. The golden scales glimmered on wings that resembled a bat's. Except the wings were the size of mountains. Agnif was filled with a sharp certainty that this golden being was eternal. He only saw it for an instant, but that instant was enough to destroy what remained of his sanity in one brutal stroke. The sky-spanning wings gave a gigantic flap, pulling back before tearing the vault of heaven asunder. A shearing sound hit his ears, ascending into an impossibly high pitch before ending in a thunderous boom. The explosion churned the water as well as his ears. In reply, the waves rose up and crashed into him. He felt the barrel break apart before the current dragged him under.

As the salt water filled his lungs and he went toward that final blackness, he remembered what the priest had called it. Mandandare Aqenomba. And the last thing Agnif felt was its rage. Immense, unquenchable rage.