Beneath the Bridge of the Silent Sea
The city was a truly noisy place, especially for someone like Miraak, who came from a world where scientific technology was not so advanced. People never stopped moving everywhere in their metal carriages called cars, while the incessant horns continued to fill the ears of everyone around.
The toxicity of the air and the chemicals could almost be perceived with the naked eye. Compared to his world, this place was truly clean of the corruption of dark entities such as the Daedric Princes. Even so, it was deeply rotten with toxins and decay that the mortals themselves seemed to create on their own.
Miraak seemed to be searching for something as he observed the streets near Percy's apartment. In truth, the first time he had been in this place, he had already felt it, but since he was more focused on making sure Percy was not easily devoured, he did not pay it much attention. Now that Percy had been sent to the camp, where he was supposed to be safe, while Miraak cleaned the surrounding area a little, he could see it clearly.
Yes. Miraak had sent Percy into the territory of his enemies, because for now it was the safest place. After all, by naming him his champion, the gods could not touch him. At the same time, Percy was the hero of the campers, since he had recovered Zeus's lightning bolt. Even so, Percy's strength had increased greatly, to the point that with only a few steps, monsters from all over the country would move toward him. Because of that, Miraak had been quite busy while Percy was on his mission.
It was not because he was a negligent master, although he partly was. It was because the children of a certain mother of monsters wanted to attack in revenge, and Miraak simply took care of sending them back to their beloved mother.
At the same time, he wanted Percy to finish that stupid mission he had been given once and for all, so that it would not become an annoyance later on.
"I hope the brat rips his head off, or he will come back to bite me in the ass later. Even if they are annoying, missions are completed once accepted," Miraak said calmly while surveying the surroundings, which were truly filled with all kinds of hidden creatures. With simple movements of his hand, they were easily killed.
However, Miraak paused for a moment before destroying each of those creatures.
"Maybe I should leave some for the brat to handle. After all, I cannot always be cleaning up what he should," he said while looking at a giant whose face was dominated by panic, one who let out a truly relieved sigh at the thought that he would survive.
Too bad for him, it was Miraak standing in front of him.
"Mmm. That brat is too stupid; he could end up being attacked from behind in his own territory," he commented simply, before raising a finger. From its tip, a black arrow of shadow shot out, like fresh ink, piercing the giant's forehead. The body fell before turning into dust.
Miraak walked lightly until he reached where he wanted to be. That familiar sensation came from an alley, so he moved through it calmly, while he could sense several monsters, far more than he usually encountered in places like this.
His gaze locked onto a group of people who were obviously not entirely human. They were all monsters in disguise, surrounding another individual as they beat him, laughing and mocking him.
"Come on, little cyclops, do something. Or is that huge body just for show?" said what appeared to be some kind of lizard man.
"We already told you. Just hand over your house and we will stop bothering you. That is not too much to ask, right?" added what seemed to be a lesser giant, only a little taller than a normal human, as he laughed in amusement.
Meanwhile, what appeared to be a massive sphinx watched from not too far away with an entertained smile, not intervening at all, as if it were enjoying the suffering of others. Then it shifted its gaze and met Miraak's eyes, who was watching the scene with interest.
The sphinx's eyes opened wide in absolute panic as it turned to flee, just before its head was pierced by a black arrow and its body vanished.
The lizard man exploded immediately into flesh and blood before turning into dust, while his companions, still standing, showed confused expressions before turning around and seeing Miraak there, calmly watching them as if they were trash.
"Who are you, bastard?" one of them shouted, and it was the only thing he managed to say before exploding just like the lizard.
The other lesser giant who was there, barely taller than a mortal man, showed a face of panic as he watched his companions be defeated so easily, just before his head exploded.
He was not even allowed to say a single word.
The cyclops, who seemed to be a young one of his kind, was curled up on the ground. Miraak raised his finger and pointed it at him, ready to finish him as well.
The cyclops, no longer feeling the blows of his attackers, moved his hands away from his face. His expression was somewhat foolish as his single brown eye scanned the surroundings until it met Miraak, who was pointing at him. As if he did not understand what was about to happen, the cyclops showed a small, silly smile.
"Thank you," he said immediately, truly cheerful. "Tyson was scared. They were bad. Thank you for helping Tyson," added the cyclops named Tyson, with genuine gratitude, without shame or pride.
That made Miraak stare fixedly at the cyclops's foolish face, which for a moment overlapped with that of a certain idiot he knew. His finger lowered for just an instant, yet it still rose again, ready to finish him. However, before he could do so, something rolled to his feet, making him shift his gaze slightly.
It was a half destroyed bag, with several metallic objects scattered across the ground around it.
Tyson looked there as well.
"That is mine. You are good. I give it to you," he said quickly, smiling as he moved closer to Miraak.
Miraak crouched slightly and picked up one of the objects. It looked like a knife made entirely by hand. It had been crafted from a metal tube that had been melted to form the blade, while the handle remained the tube itself, wrapped in cloth. Even so, it had a surprisingly solid structure.
Then he picked up what appeared to be precisely bent plates, used as knee guards and forearm guards. When he looked at Tyson, he could see that the cyclops wore some of them hidden beneath his clothes, surely to defend himself from his attackers, something that clearly could not have been uncommon in his daily life.
Lastly, he saw a hammer, wrenches, a chisel, and several other tools, all of them bearing clear signs of having been made by hand.
"Did you make these?" Miraak asked while holding the blacksmith's hammer, formed from what looked like several melted metal objects fused together. For someone like him, it was easy to tell, even if the structure did not make it obvious at first glance.
"Yes. With it, Tyson hits hot metal," Tyson replied with a smile.
Finally, Miraak looked at the round object that had rolled to his feet earlier. Inside it, small gears moved gently. On one side there was a small sun engraved, and on the other a moon, with several colored markings between them that shifted slowly.
When Tyson saw the object in Miraak's hand, close to the black mark, his eyes widened slightly in panic.
"Darkness. Bad monsters come out. We have to go back," he said quickly, gathering everything he could from the ground and stuffing it into his half torn bag. Then he hugged it tightly to his chest with urgency and fear.
After that, he gestured with his head for Miraak to follow him.
"Tyson will protect friend. Come," he said, urging him onward.
Miraak raised an eyebrow at the sight and, for some reason, found it amusing to see what this cyclops was planning. Even so, he decided to follow.
The cyclops guided him through alleyways and beneath bridges, clearly in a hurry, running with the objects clutched in his arms. He stopped every so often to make sure Miraak was still behind him. And although Miraak appeared to be walking calmly, he was always just a few steps away, something Tyson did not notice as he carefully watched his surroundings before continuing.
"It is here," he said at last, pointing beneath a bridge to what looked like a small house made of wooden planks firmly joined with nails, surprisingly sturdy.
Tyson opened the door and let Miraak enter before closing it and setting several locks in place.
"Fuuu," he let out a long breath once they were inside.
"Here is safe," he said quickly, while Miraak observed the interior.
Objects were scattered everywhere. Small tricycles that looked as though they had been repaired recently, wheels, and various other parts. Each and every one of them showed clear signs of having been fixed by skilled hands.
"Are these your works?" Miraak asked, looking at them with mild interest.
"Yes. Tyson repairs them for food," he replied immediately, nodding. At that exact moment, his stomach growled softly.
Miraak also noticed that Tyson was still quite battered from the beating he had received earlier. At a glance, he could make out hidden scars running across his body.
Tyson rubbed his stomach naturally, without any real concern, as if it were something completely normal. Then he raised his head when he noticed something flying toward him. By reflex, he lifted his hands in fear, expecting another blow, but instead caught something soft without realizing it.
He opened his eyes slowly and saw that he was holding a bag in his hand. He looked toward Miraak, who was no longer paying attention to him and was once again observing the strange clock from before with interest.
Tyson opened the bag carefully and inside found what looked like cream filled sweets, along with sticks covered in something sticky and yellow, mixed with crushed pieces of nut.
He looked at Miraak with a silly smile before taking the sweets and beginning to eat happily. His single eye shone with every bite of the honey and nut candy and the cooked cream sweet. At the same time, he could feel his wounds beginning to heal rapidly.
He lifted one hand and watched it close its wounds with excitement.
"It is sweet," he said, truly happy, looking at Miraak, while a small tear ran down his face, as if it were the first time he had ever tasted something so delicious.
Miraak turned slightly to look at him. That simple, foolish expression still felt familiar, and that feeling was the same one that had caught his attention before.
The same one Percy carried within.
A son of the sea.