by Jeremy Dwyer
It was under the orders of Countess Genevieve that Renato had gone in search of the tiara. He learned of it what he could in Emeth and various sea ports by listening to the talk of travelers, who had heard the warnings from the sages of Emeth. The tiara was said to be endowed with powers to control the oceans, and that it became powerful when worn in the cold, which is why it did not have its powers during the great heat wave known as the “inferno”, caused by the alignment of the many suns.
However, the world was cooler – and darker – now. This was clear to everyone, as the yellow suns had greatly dimmed. Renato was a drinker of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean, so he knew a great deal about light and how to control it, and even generate it. He understood very well that – depending on the intensity, position and angle of light sources – that the heat and light that shone upon a subject could vary greatly. It made sense that, with the solar alignment, the inferno would have been so dangerous, although he did not know what caused the suns to move as they did. They were sources of light, but they were more than that, and moved according to principles that he could not understand, despite generating light that he could understand.
No one seemed to have a good explanation for the movement of the suns, or the dimming of the yellow ones. Renato had asked some navigators – drinkers of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean, who were supposedly in tune with the suns – what might be occurring, but they gave conflicting explanations that varied wildly. He heard everything from a theory about the yellow suns preparing to die out, to them changing colors, to them moving so fast that they could not be seen. However, one thing he knew about light was that, as long as it shone, whatever its source, moving it quickly most certainly did not make it invisible.
Renato was concerned with what he had heard about the tiara’s ability to control oceans, however. The tiara was said to be in the possession of the woman named Victoria, who was purportedly a descendant of the matriarchal Ahitan Empire, legendary for their ruthless murder of males. He did not care to even think of what they might do if he fell into their grip, so he was determined not to let that happen. His loyalty to Countess Genevieve meant that he would brave the danger to bring her the tiara as she had ordered, but he would exercise extreme caution. He told the countess that it would take him some time to obtain the item, and he had no plans to make a deadly mistake by acting in haste.
He reasoned that Victoria would want to use the powers of all the oceans in some order, or another, eventually arriving in the Ikkith Tar Ocean as she saw fit. For all the ocean waters, they have to be consumed by a person for their powers to be of use – as far as he understood – which made the tiara’s control over all the oceans a rather strange claim. If a person had the appropriate innate potential that resonated with the water’s nature, then a power would be given to them. However, that person would be changed – permanently bound to that water, unable to drink any other without dying. The intensity of that power depended upon just how much innate potential that the person had, and upon the purity of the water. In his own case, the Lujladia Ocean waters gave him the power to generate light, bend it, see around corners and over long distances and even create illusions. Not everyone who drank those same waters had all of these forms of the light powers, and some had different levels of ability with each form. Renato was a rare one, being very strong in each form of the light powers.
Coming to this place was strategic on his part, as it extended into the Ikkith Tar Ocean. The waters of this ocean were called the “dark waters” because, as a large body of water, anyone traveling over it would be affected by the darkness that emanated from it. This would cause distortions in the air above the water, and make it extremely difficult to see accurately over any great distance. Ships were known to crash into large islands that were physically present, but sight unseen, hidden by the darkness. Techniques existed for navigating by drinking the waters of the Atrejan Ocean to give sensitivity to the positions and movements of the suns and follow their paths: if the paths of the suns followed known patterns, one could use them as a guide. However, the visual distortions caused by the darkness were an ever-present danger, and there were no guarantees of reaching your destination. The elevated chances of getting lost led to this ocean being called the “maze waters”, although that title was shared with the Lujladia Ocean, whose strange patterns of light caused visual distortions of another type, also causing navigational difficulties.
Renato manipulated light – not darkness – but the darkness was still his ally. He could hide in the darkness that was already present – but not generate his own darkness – while being able to see in it because of his powers to generate light. He planned on seeing Victoria, who he believed could not see him, as she would have the powers of darkness from this ocean and not the powers of light.
He drank the waters of the Lujladia Ocean that he kept in a vial that he wore on a chain around his neck and he was energized, and able to see long distances even in darkness. His particular innate potential was quite high, and the distance he could see was great, even around corners or the horizon. Because of this, he saw several ships in the distance. One seemed to be in the center of the ripples of the water. This was suspicious to him, to say the least.
Renato made his way down from the hilltop and boarded a small boat that he had purchased. It was only twenty (20) feet in length with a sixteen (16) foot high single-mast. The boat could not be converted into an airship, but it did have solar power crystals embedded into its sails to propel the boat in the absence of a breeze. He was planning on traveling in the small vessel so as not to attract too much attention. He suspected that the Ahitan Empire employed its own drinkers of the Lujladia Ocean waters, who would have the ability to see him over long distances in the darkness as well. He did not want to give them a large target to observe. Instead, he wanted to give them no target at all.
The Lujladia Ocean waters activated within him the power to bend the flow of light around him. He used this to carry the visuals of those objects and the open water behind him to appear in front of him, as well, as if he weren’t even there. Effectively, he created a virtual periscope that wrapped around his own body and his small ship, so that anyone looking at him or the ship from any angle would see past him and the ship and think that there was no distance or object in between. He was a master of this technique, due to his rare combination of high potential in all the forms of the light powers and his focus.
Renato then set sail in the direction of the ship at the center of the ripples of water, anticipating great danger. He prepared several daggers, and was ready to throw or thrust them.
~~~
On board the Tidal Sovereign, Victoria continued to concentrate on using the powers of the tiara. The ripples of water around the ship extended farther and farther and the breeze picked up. However, hours passed, and then more hours, and she became tired. She was healthy, but mortal. She had the powers of the tiara, but they were not at their fullest, having recently been expended and only slowly returning.
“Master, I tire of this waiting,” Victoria called out.
The voice of the demon, Matatirot, said to her: “Mortal health gives mortal might. Great by day yet weak by night. It must now be renewed with rest. In the morning bring the blight.”
“I must rest now. I anger at this wait, for our enemy lives another day. Yet, in the morning, when I awake, my anger will be with me, and my enemies in the world will die,” Victoria said.
She lowered her arms, the waters calmed and the air became still again. She went to her private quarters on the ship and rested.
The dark scouts and light scouts around Victoria kept watch outside her quarters, to guard her against any threats.
~~~
Renato saw that the ripples in the water had again ceased, and the breeze he felt earlier had died down again. Yet, he maintained his bearing as best he could toward the ship that had previously been in the center of the disturbance in the waters.
He sailed upon the
Ikkith Tar Ocean all day and all night by the power of the energy crystals embedded in the sails, as there was no breeze. After many hours, he drank anew from his vial of Lujladia Ocean waters to maintain his energy for his powers over light.
CHAPTER 17: Frozen by the Ice of Wrath
Upon the Ikkith Tar Ocean, in her quarters on board the Tidal Sovereign, Victoria was sleeping and she dreamed of a dark forest filled with shadows and light, and a creature moving in them, carrying a sharp blade. She could not see the creature or the blade, but she somehow knew of them. She became frightened and angry, and called out in her sleep: “Master! Give me the power to see him and strike him down!” Then, she awoke, screaming.
Her guards heard her call out and immediately rushed into her quarters. The light scout, energized from drinking the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from a vial she carried, generated light to see any threat that might be hiding in the darkness, but she saw nothing. The dark scout, energized from drinking the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean from a vial she carried, generated darkness to dispel any illusions that might cloak the appearance of a threat, but she saw nothing. Both were ready with daggers.
“What is it?” the light scout asked.
“I dreamt of a forest of shadows and light, and a creature carrying a sharp blade. I could not see it, but I sensed its presence,” Victoria said.
“By my powers of light, I see nothing hiding in the darkness,” the light scout said.
“By my powers of darkness, I see that no trick of light is hiding anyone here,” the dark scout said.
“Then it was only a dream. I am rested now. Yet, my anger has awakened with me!” Victoria said.
At this, Victoria stood up, exited her quarters and stood on the deck of the ship. She reached out her arms and the blue diamonds in the tiara began to glow again, much more brightly than on the prior day.
The waters around the ship did more than ripple, and the calm air gave way to much more than a breeze.
The water rose around the ship, and a powerful wind blew.
“The tempest is returning!” said the dark scout who had previously nearly met her end by Victoria’s anger.
“My night of rest shall bring their death!” Victoria said, filled with the most joyful rage and anger.
~~~
Renato had passed by several ships in the night, and approached the one he thought to be at the center of the ripples in the water. He suspected that, if the tiara had the power to control the waters that so many claimed, it was the epicenter of the disturbance in the waters. Furthermore, he believed that it had the power to do much more than create mere ripples in the water. When the waters became turbulent and the wind became powerful, he realized that, unfortunately, he had been correct.
He then took a fresh drink of the Lujladia Ocean waters from his vial and he was energized. He used his refreshed powers to bend light and then he looked up and around corners to see who was on the deck of the ship as he approached it. They were unable to see him or his ship, however. The Lujladia waters he drank gave him a clear view of the crucial details.
Renato saw a dark-haired woman standing on deck, holding her arms out and wearing a band around her forehead that had glowing blue stones on it. He thought that the band may be what many were calling the tiara. The woman was somewhat attractive, perhaps forty (40) years in appearance – unless she was a drinker of the waters of the Ursegan Ocean which could mean she could actually be centuries or millennia old. He did not know whether that was the case, however. He thought this woman was likely to be Victoria.
The woman was surrounded by many other women, whom he thought to be her guards. They were carrying daggers. Additionally, there were cannons on the ship, and several women standing near them, who looked to be personally armed with bows and arrows.
Renato had rested, but he had not slept, so he had to be careful not to make a mistake due to fatigue. He would not be able to dodge a hail of arrows, so combat was out of the question. Stealth, instead, would be his tactic. He prepared his daggers and a small grappling hook with which to board the target ship. He did not throw the hook, but used it to scale the sides of the target ship. Below him, the waters had become tempestuous, and the ship he had been on was being tossed about.
He went on deck, maintaining his power of wrapping the light around himself, so that he could not be seen, while he was able to see many things.
The wind became more powerful, and the waters rose higher and higher. Great waves of water went in all directions around the ship he just boarded.
One of the women called out, gleefully: “To the north, Javanda is under siege. The waters are striking their shores. No less than one million four hundred eighty thousand (1480000) bodies were swept out to sea.”
Renato looked into the distance and saw that what the woman said was true. He knew, then, that she was also a Lujladia Ocean drinker, given at least the power of long distance vision she had just demonstrated. Her joy at the deaths of so many people was horrific, and he concluded that these women must, indeed, be part of the Ahitan Empire.
Another woman called out, joyously: “To the south, Revod is under siege. The waters are striking their shores. No less than one million two hundred seventy-three thousand (1273000) of the enemy’s people were drowned and the corpses were carried out to sea.”
“Let the Jendalej Empire die and die again!” said the woman wearing the band with the glowing blue stones around her head.
The water was stirred horrifically, and Renato could see the waves rise like a wall, perhaps five hundred (500) feet into the air, and push outward from the ship he was on. The waves then went into the distance in yet other directions, battering the land. He could see masses of people dying in the distance by the powers of far sight he also had.
“Victoria! You are the queen! You brought massacre to Revod. You brought death to Javanda. Even the Dark Platinum Road to the east has been struck, killing no less than twelve thousand (12000), washing their corpses into the sea. And the Wandering of Shadows to the west is within your reach. No less than eight thousand (8000) have been killed by the tempest striking at its coast,” one of the women said to the woman wearing the headband.
Now, Renato knew that she was, indeed, Victoria.
Renato knew that the Dark Platinum Road was a land bridge connecting the northern coast of the continent of Baradaxa to the southeastern corner of the continent of Javanda. Like other land bridges, it was mountainous, and its population was over fifty-five million (55000000), with many living on the coasts to facilitate travel both by land and by sea. Many lived in the highlands, and were hopefully shielded from the tempest.
He also knew that the Wandering of Shadows was another land bridge, connecting the northwestern corner of the continent of Revod to the southwestern corner of the continent of Javanda. Because of its rough geography and many inlets for the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean on its eastern coast, and the Lujladia Ocean waters on its southwestern coast, the Wandering of Shadows was a place of mist, confusing light and obscuring darkness brought on by both waters’ powers of visual distortion, where people went to hide and not be found. The number of people living there was unknown, but almost certainly more than a few people were hiding there, and would soon be drowned.
“The storm has struck even the ships in the sea around us, sinking no less than five hundred fifty (550) of them, and killing at least one hundred thirty-seven thousand (137000) of their crew,” another of the women said.
“The people are even fleeing the coasts! They think they can escape the tempest!” yet another of the women said.
“The crashing of the waters is only one power. Let the darkness of the ocean waters bring their bitter cold upon my enemies! First, death by water! Then, death by ice!” Victoria called out.
Renato was sickened at the mass murder he was witnessing from afar, caused by the woman standing nearby. For all he knew, Countess Genevieve might already be dead in a prior attack by this wicked queen. Bringing back
the tiara was no longer a goal for him – he decided that he had to kill Victoria before she murdered the world. He readied one of his daggers and looked for the proper moment to thrust it into Victoria.
The tiara was channeling the powers of the Ikkith Tar Ocean and a great shroud of darkness and cold descended on everyone, including Victoria, the ship and the ocean and the land.
Renato could feel a hint of the cold, and it was powerful. He suspected that it was more intense – rather than less intense – at a distance away. He reasoned this only because it would not make sense for the tiara to create its lethal effect too close to the one actually wearing it, or it would be useless to the wearer, assuming that they valued their own life.
The darkness was also powerful, but Renato could see through it by his own powers of light.
~~~
In the continent of Revod, the Jenaldej Empire struggled to evacuate people from the coasts, where over one million two hundred seventy-three thousand (1273000) had already died in the most recent attack. Sea ports were flooded, and ships in port or sailing nearby were sunk.
Soon, a dark cloud arrived, and a chill wind with it. Another one million two hundred thousand (1200000) died in the bitter cold in just a matter of hours.
Despite the training and discipline of the citizens of the empire, they were not without fear, although the fear did not lead to outright panic. Instead, they retreated from the coasts so as not to be carried out to sea by the waves of water. They also looked to put a distance between them and the cold, if that were possible.
The suns could barely be seen, and the people looked for warmth by lighting many torches and retreating to underground shelters. Those who drank the waters of the Lujladia Ocean provided light to guide their fellow citizens along the way. Airships could carry some people very quickly. However, instead of carrying people, the resource coordinators, including Nathan, ordered that they be used to move supplies such as winter clothing, all great waters, and fuel and materials for torches to those who needed them. Everyone was ordered away from the northern coast, and moved as quickly as they could.
