"Every wave carries a memory that never reached the shore."
The storm behind them had faded into calm, leaving the plains soaked and gleaming under the sun. A faint rainbow arched over the ruins of Ardelin as Kael and Lior made their way toward the western cliffs. The air smelled of wet stone and salt.
Kael adjusted the strap of his pack. "I can't believe we're walking straight into another mystery. You ever think about just… staying somewhere normal?"
Lior gave him a sidelong glance. "Normal places do not hold fragments of a fallen crown."
Kael sighed dramatically. "You know, you could at least pretend we're doing this for adventure. Makes it sound less like suicide."
They walked until the land dropped into a vast expanse of water that shimmered like glass. The sea stretched endlessly, reflecting the sky so perfectly that it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.
Lior stopped at the edge. "The Forgotten Sea."
Kael squinted. "Why do they call it that? It looks pretty memorable to me."
Lior's expression grew distant. "Because no one who crossed it ever returned."
A breeze rolled over the waves, cool and heavy with salt. The water glowed faintly blue beneath the surface, as if something deep below pulsed with light.
They followed a path that led down to a small fishing village built from driftwood and stone. The people there spoke in quiet tones, their eyes wary when they looked toward the sea. Children ran barefoot through puddles, their laughter subdued as though they feared waking something sleeping beneath the waves.
An old man sat near the docks mending a torn net. He looked up when they approached. "Travelers, are you? The tide has been restless. Best not to sail this week."
Kael crouched beside him. "We're looking for passage across. You know anyone brave enough to try?"
The man's wrinkled hands paused. "Brave is not the word I would use. Desperate, perhaps. Or doomed."
Lior stepped forward. "We will pay well."
The old man studied him for a moment, then nodded toward the far end of the pier. "There's one who might take you. A woman named Nerin. Her ship has crossed the outer tides before, though I cannot say at what cost."
They found the ship easily enough, a sleek vessel with a single black sail, rocking gently in the shallow water. Its hull bore carvings of serpents and waves, worn smooth by salt.
A tall woman stood on deck, tightening a length of rope. Her hair was the color of copper, her skin marked by faint scars like lightning etched across her arms. When she saw them, she grinned.
"You're either foolish or brave to ask for passage today."
Kael grinned back. "Why not both?"
Nerin laughed, the sound sharp and confident. "Fair answer. I'll take you across, but not for gold. I need something else."
Lior tilted his head. "What do you want?"
She pointed to the sea. "Something stirs below. The currents have changed. I've lost three sailors this month to what sleeps there. You want to cross, you help me wake it properly or put it back to sleep."
Kael groaned. "Of course it's never simple."
That night, the three of them set sail under a sky of silver clouds. The waves whispered against the hull as the ship cut through the dark water. The glow beneath the sea grew brighter, spreading like veins of light.
Nerin stood at the helm, her eyes fixed on the horizon. "You feel that?"
Kael frowned. "Feel what?"
"The hum beneath your feet. The sea's heartbeat."
Lior closed his eyes and listened. The vibration was faint but steady, resonating through the planks of the deck, through his bones, through the fragments he carried. "It knows we are here."
Lightning flashed far out at sea, followed by a low rumble that was not thunder. The waves began to rise, slow and deliberate, as if something enormous was shifting beneath them.
Kael's hand went to his sword. "Please tell me that's normal."
Nerin's expression darkened. "Not unless your seas back home breathe."
The ship lurched violently. A column of water shot upward, drenching them. From the depths emerged a creature vast enough to block the moonlight. A leviathan formed of water and light, its eyes like twin lanterns in the dark.
Kael stumbled back. "Oh, come on. Can we have one quiet trip?"
The creature roared, a sound that made the sea tremble. Nerin shouted over the wind. "That's the Tide Warden! The guardian of the Forgotten Sea. It wakes when someone tries to cross without offering memory!"
Lior steadied himself, gripping the rail. "Memory?"
"Yes! Something precious. Something the sea can keep forever!"
Kael blinked. "You mean like gold?"
Nerin shook her head. "Like what you fear to lose!"
The Tide Warden lunged toward the ship. Lior reached into his cloak, pulling free one of the smaller shards that glowed faintly blue. The fragment pulsed as if alive, reacting to the creature's presence. He understood then, the sea remembered him too.
He lifted the fragment above his head. "Then take this, and remember what I was!"
The shard burst into light, and the sea exploded around them. The creature hesitated, its luminous eyes flickering. Images rippled across the water, cities drowned long ago, faces fading into foam, and finally the image of Lior himself standing against a storm.
The Tide Warden slowly sank back into the depths. The waves calmed. The sea's glow dimmed until only moonlight remained.
Kael stared at him, drenched and wide-eyed. "You just gave part of yourself to an ocean ghost."
"It was never mine to keep," Lior said softly.
Nerin lowered the sail, her face pale but awed. "The sea accepts you. I have never seen it yield like that."
They sailed through the calm waters until the first light of dawn appeared. On the horizon lay an island shrouded in mist, its cliffs crowned by silver trees that gleamed even in shadow.
Kael leaned on the railing, exhausted. "Tell me that's our stop."
Lior nodded. "The island of Atheris. The next fragment lies there."
Nerin smiled faintly. "Then may your courage hold, wanderers. The Forgotten Sea remembers mercy tonight."
As they stepped onto the sand, Kael looked back once more. The ocean stretched quiet and endless behind them, as if nothing had ever stirred beneath.
But Lior could still feel it, the faint hum of the sea, echoing in rhythm with the pulse of the fragment in his chest.
The journey was far from over. The sea had only given them passage, not peace.