Waves of Magic: Paakiga 1, Tobias 2 (Patreon)

[center]Paakiga 1[/center]

My fin-legs paddled, pushing my bulk through the water. I was starting to get too big for the shallows, another molt, and I wouldn’t be able to handle the weight of my shell this close to shore. Until that point though, I’d keep combing the surf, finding anything useful that could be taken back to the Cultivators in the city. Hopefully I’d be able to find some obsidian, from the rumors, there was a zang clan that would be passing through soon.

I shuddered at the thought. Even with my shell being strong enough to handle a bite from the shark-like barbarians, I had no desire to be alone with one to test it. Let the merchants in the city be the ones to interact with the zang, I was perfectly happy to stay far away from them. Something appearing in the corner of my vision caught my attention, pulling me from my thoughts.

Swimming closer, I jerked back slightly in surprise at the sight that greeted me. What was a sunken surfacer structure doing here? More than that, where did it come from? I’d swam by this place dozens of times over the years, and I certainly would have noticed it by now. I wasn’t a scholar, my dedicated training in magic wouldn’t begin until I could no longer retrieve the useful implements from the shoreline, but no magic I knew of could transport an entire structure like that.

Circling the structure, I brought one of my crafting claws up, grabbing onto the pincer molt I wore around my neck. It was comforting, and drawing in a fresh pulse of water over my gills, I made my way to the opening, the gaping hole in the side letting the sea inside. While I could handle a bit of time out of the water, in the air, it was far from what anyone would call comfortable.

I swam through the opening cautiously, my eyes searching every corner for any signs of danger. The structure was dark and silent, and the only thing I could hear was the sound of my own breathing. I wondered what kind of surfacer could have built something like this, and why they would abandon it in such a manner. I swam deeper into the structure, my claws scraping against the walls as I moved.

As I swam, I noticed that the walls were covered in strange symbols and markings. I couldn't understand what they meant, but I could feel their power emanating from them. It was a kind of power that I had never felt before, and it made me uneasy. The thought of being trapped in this strange place with the unknown power surrounding me was nearly enough to make me turn back and leave.

But then I saw it. A glimmer of obsidian, hidden in the shadows. It was exactly what I was looking for, and I couldn't resist the temptation. I swam towards it, my heart pounding in my chest. But as I got closer, I realized that it was only a small piece, not nearly enough to satisfy the Cultivators. I was about to turn back when I heard a sound.

It was a soft gasp, barely audible, but it was definitely there. I froze, my eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of movement. And then I saw them. A surfacer man, lying on the ground, his body covered in bruises and cuts. His hands flew to his neck, his eyes wide in a panic as a torrent of bubbles escaped from his throat.

I immediately swam up to him, forcing down the giddy excitement that was forming in the back of my mind. Interrogate him later, for now, make sure that he survived. Reaching down to where my torso met my lower body, I opened up one of the net pouches I carried and pulled out a small, green globe.

Pulling one of the surfacer's hands from his neck, I put the globe into the hand and shoved it up to his mouth. The panic in his wide eyes began to lessen, as water passed through the globe and became air. I gave him a chance to catch his breath and recover from his panic.

Communication would be a nonstarter, I didn’t know any surfacer languages, and I very much doubt I’d be able to communicate back to him even if I did. From what the tabemisu described, the last time I talked to one, air breathers mostly communicated by passing air through their mouths to create sounds, and I didn’t have the right kind of anatomy to do that.

So instead of trying, I gestured with one of my crafting claws for the surfacer to follow me. It was very slow going, the surfacer moving slower than I had after my first molt. After struggling to even reach the entrance to the big round room, I gave up on letting the surfacer swim on his own. Making sure that he was paying attention, I pointed at the hand not holding the globe up to his mouth, then pointed to the nets I had secured across the back of my tail and lower shell.

Fortunately, he understood what I was trying to get across, taking a firm grip of the netting as I swam. The added drag slowed me down, but it was still a lot faster than waiting for the surfacer to stop flailing about.

As we swam, I couldn't help but wonder how the surfacer had ended up in that sunken structure. Had he been a prisoner, or had he stumbled upon it by accident? And why did he have so many cuts and bruises?

I couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had settled in my gut. The power that I had felt in the structure was still lingering, and it made me nervous. But I pushed the feeling aside, focusing on getting the surfacer to safety.

The city was quite a swim away, made more difficult by the fact that I had to swim closer to the surface than I preferred, due to my passenger. The air globe I’d given him was meant for use in case of emergencies, mostly for tabemisu, and only had so much air stored inside it. Still, after a bit the outskirts of the city became visible, tabemisu lounging on floating platforms while one would occasionally either slip into or out of the water.

“First I'm rescued from drowning by a giant, sentient lobster, and now I'm seeing… are those seal-centaurs?” I heard the surfacer ask from his place on my back as I swam closer.

I had no idea what he said, so I dismissed it, instead swimming that much faster, eager to get to the city so someone infinitely more qualified could handle the surfacer. I wasn't even sure when the last time was that a surfacer of his species had been seen. Abyss below, I'd honestly thought they were extinct, the sunken ruins of their cities the only remnants that they'd ever existed at all.

Soon enough, we were spotted by the tabemisu, a number of them slipping into the water and racing out to meet us. A koup'ira like myself approaching so close to the surface that my shell periodically broke through to be exposed to air would be interesting enough, let alone the individual I was bringing along.

As we got closer, I could see the shock and confusion on the faces of the tabemisu. It wasn't often that they saw a surfacer in the flesh, especially one that looked like this one. The surfacer's skin was a deep shade of brown, and he had short, cropped hair that was a brighter shade of the same color. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, and he looked like he had been through hell and back.

But the tabemisu didn't hesitate. They swam up to us, their eyes scanning the surfacer's body for any signs of injury. They made a series of clicks and whistles that I couldn't understand, but the surfacer seemed to be able to make sense of it. He responded with a few grunts and gestures, and the tabemisu nodded, their expressions becoming more serious.

One of the tabemisu swam up to me, her eyes scanning my body for any injuries I might have sustained in my journey. When she was satisfied that I was fine, she turned her attention back to the surfacer, gesturing for him to follow her. He hesitated for a moment, looking back at me before nodding and following her.

As they swam away, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over me. The surfacer was safe now, and I could return to my own life. But as I turned to swim away, a feeling of unease settled in my gut once again.

I couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something more to this surfacer than met the eye. Something that could have far-reaching consequences for our world. I made a mental note to keep an eye on the situation, to see what unfolds.

With that thought in mind, I swam back towards the sunken structure. Despite my unease, I couldn't resist the pull of the power that emanated from it. I needed to know more about it, to understand its secrets.

[center]Tobias 2[/center]

Tobias honestly hadn’t been expecting to wake up, after the wave of unregulated time magic slammed into him. At best, he’d figured that he’d age into dust in an instant, and so not have to feel it. At worst, the same, but slow enough that he’d feel the rapid aging. Instead, what appeared to have happened was getting either frozen in, or sent forwards through time.

Whatever the case, the ossuary had been completely and utterly flooded when he could move and regained his awareness. Which was a problem, as he tried to gasp in a lungful of air, only to be met with a mouthful of seawater.

Tobias coughed and sputtered, his body convulsing as he tried to expel the water from his lungs. Panic set in as he realized that he was trapped underwater, with no way to escape. He thrashed about, trying to free himself from the rubble that had trapped him.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free. His body was weak from the shock of the magic, and his muscles were still recovering from the trauma. He was trapped, and he knew it.

As he struggled to breathe, a shadowy figure appeared in front of him. At first, Tobias thought that it was a figment of his imagination, a result of the lack of oxygen in his brain. But as the figure drew closer, he realized that it was real.

It resembled nothing less than a giant lobster, with a shimmering carapace and claws that glinted in the dim light. Tobias was momentarily stunned by the creature's appearance, but then his burning lungs reminded him where he was and what had happened. He was in the underwater ossuary, and he was drowning.

The lobster seemed to sense his distress, and it swam closer, its claws reaching out to him. Tobias tried to back away, but he was trapped, and the lobster was too close. He closed his eyes, waiting for the end.

One of his hands was pulled away, something soft and squishy was put in it, before both whatever it was and his hand were pressed to Tobias's mouth. Instantly, air filled his lungs, and his eyes shot wide open. This... lobster person had saved his life.

After that, it guided him away from the ossuary, where he, Dura, Drorvar, and Yaro had fought Shudan. There were no signs of any of their remains, but at the moment, he wasn’t in a situation where he could conduct a thorough investigation. Instead, he went along with the flow, so to speak, as the lobster person led him to what looked like a towering, half sunken half floating city. With creatures that seemed like someone had taken the basic body plan of centaurs, but gone with seals or sea lions instead of horses. When he’d woken up that morning, this was not how he’d seen his day going.