Flight Beneath the Waves
The first sight of the Endless Ocean changed the mood aboard the flying Skiff.
For hours, the questors had traveled south from the Cloudspine Peaks, leaving the high mountains of Skyreach behind.
The landscape had changed gradually.
Snow became stone.
Stone became forest.
Forest became marshland.
Then, eventually, the land simply ended.
The ocean began.
It stretched beyond the horizon in every direction, an immense blue expanse broken only by distant islands, clouds, and the occasional white crest of a wave.
Lirion stood at the Skiff's controls, watching the navigation instruments.
Lirion: "We've entered the outer boundary of the Thalorin region."
Bardin leaned over the side.
Bardin: "That's a rather large boundary."
Dorion: "It's called the Endless Ocean for a reason."
Bardin looked down.
Bardin: "I was hoping that was poetic."
Lirion: "It wasn't."
Bardin slowly stepped away from the railing.
The others laughed.
But Sorion remained silent.
He was watching the water.
Something about the ocean disturbed him.
Not because of its size.
Not because of the darkness beneath it.
It was the feeling.
The deeper they traveled toward Thalorin, the stronger the sensation became.
There was a memory beneath the waves.
Something ancient had happened here.
Something that had not completely disappeared.
THE ENDLESS OCEAN
The flying Skiff continued south.
Unlike the lands surrounding Aurion Citadel, the Thalorin region had almost no visible settlements.
There were no major roads.
No towers.
No ancient trade stations.
No obvious ruins.
Only water.
Occasionally, the Skiff passed over tiny islands.
Some were covered in thick vegetation.
Others were nothing more than jagged rock.
Lirion compared them against the Observatory's ancient map.
Lirion: "None of these islands appear on the old records."
Valek looked toward the horizon.
Valek: "Then the map is incomplete."
Lirion: "Or the geography changed."
Dorion looked at him.
Dorion: "Can geography change that much?"
Lirion pointed toward the ocean.
Lirion: "Look at the coastline behind us."
They turned.
From their altitude, the coastline of Orinthal could be seen in the distance.
The old maps showed several ancient coastal settlements.
But none were visible.
Only water.
Lirion: "Something happened here."
Sorion looked toward the ocean.
Sorion: "A flood?"
Lirion: "Possibly."
He studied the ancient records again.
Lirion: "But the records don't say Thalorin was destroyed."
Bardin frowned.
Bardin: "Then what happened?"
Lirion shook his head.
Lirion: "That's what we're going to find out."
A STRANGE WEATHER SYSTEM
By afternoon, the sky began changing.
Clouds gathered over the horizon.
Not ordinary storm clouds.
They moved in a circular formation.
The center remained strangely clear while the outer clouds rotated around it.
Lirion immediately adjusted the Skiff's course.
Lirion: "That's not natural."
Dorion looked at the clouds.
Dorion: "Storm?"
Lirion: "Maybe."
A lightning flash appeared inside the clouds.
Then another.
But there was no thunder.
Sorion looked at the sky.
Sorion: "Technomagik."
Lirion turned.
Lirion: "You sense it too?"
Sorion nodded.
Sorion: "The storm isn't forming."
He looked toward the center of the clouds.
Sorion: "It's being maintained."
The Skiff slowed.
Lirion brought up a scanning field.
Blue-black data streams spread across the instruments.
Lirion: "Energy concentration is increasing."
Valek prepared his weapon.
Valek: "Are we being attacked?"
Lirion: "No."
He stared at the readings.
Lirion: "It's more like a barrier."
Sorion understood immediately.
Sorion: "Something doesn't want travelers going farther."
The Skiff hovered.
Ahead was an enormous circular storm.
Beyond it was the deepest portion of the Thalorin region.
And somewhere beyond that—
the lost Ocean City.
THE THALORIN BARRIER
Lirion searched the Observatory's records.
One ancient entry appeared.
THALORIN SEAL
His eyes widened.
Lirion: "I found something."
The others gathered around him.
Lirion: "The ancient records mention a defensive boundary surrounding the central Thalorin region."
Dorion: "A defense system?"
Lirion: "Yes."
Bardin: "Against what?"
Lirion didn't know.
The record had been damaged.
Only fragments remained.
KEEP THE DEPTHS CLOSED.
NO SURFACE VESSEL SHALL PASS.
THE CITY MUST REMAIN—
The rest was unreadable.
Sorion stared at the final sentence.
Sorion: "Remain what?"
Lirion shook his head.
Lirion: "The record ends there."
Dorion looked toward the storm.
Dorion: "Then we have a problem."
Lirion smiled slightly.
Lirion: "Not necessarily."
He adjusted the Skiff's Technomagik core.
Lirion: "We have something they didn't."
Bardin looked around.
Bardin: "Experience?"
Dorion answered.
Dorion: "Stubbornness."
Lirion pointed toward the Skiff.
Lirion: "A flying vessel."
THROUGH THE STORM
The Skiff accelerated.
Its Technomagik engine flared.
The protective field expanded around the hull.
Wind struck them.
Rain began falling.
Within seconds, the peaceful ocean disappeared.
The Skiff entered the storm.
Lightning flashed around them.
The vessel shook violently.
Bardin grabbed the mast.
Bardin: "I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I SAID ABOUT WANTING AN ADVENTURE!"
Dorion held onto the railing.
Dorion: "YOU WANTED SOMETHING WILD!"
Bardin: "I MEANT THE FOREST!"
Lirion fought the controls.
Lirion: "Hold on!"
The Skiff dropped suddenly.
Everyone's stomach rose.
Then the craft stabilized.
Lirion pushed the engines harder.
The storm intensified.
For several minutes, they could see nothing.
Only rain.
Only clouds.
Only flashes of blue-white energy.
Then—
silence.
The Skiff burst through the other side.
The storm vanished behind them.
The ocean became calm again.
Bardin slowly released the railing.
Bardin: "I have decided that storms are terrible."
Dorion laughed.
Dorion: "Noted."
But Lirion wasn't laughing.
He was staring ahead.
Lirion: "There."
THE FIRST SIGN OF THALORIN
At first, Sorion saw nothing.
Then he noticed something beneath the surface.
A shape.
Huge.
Geometric.
It disappeared beneath the waves.
Lirion lowered the Skiff.
The object became clearer.
A structure.
A tower.
Not floating.
Submerged.
Its uppermost section barely broke the ocean surface.
The tower was covered in centuries of marine growth.
But its shape remained unmistakably artificial.
Bardin stared.
Bardin: "That's a building."
Dorion leaned over the side.
Dorion: "Underwater."
Lirion scanned it.
Lirion: "Ancient construction."
Sorion looked down.
The structure extended much deeper than expected.
Sorion: "How deep?"
Lirion checked the scan.
His expression changed.
Lirion: "Very."
The scan continued.
Then failed.
Lirion: "My scanner can't reach the bottom."
Valek looked at him.
Valek: "How large is it?"
Lirion stared at the readings.
Lirion: "It's not a tower."
Everyone looked at him.
Lirion: "It's the top of a city."
Silence.
THE SUNKEN CITY
The questors had seen ancient cities before.
Aurion Citadel.
Borealis Citadel.
Solaris Sanctum.
Mirehaven.
But what appeared beneath them was different.
The ocean was hiding an entire civilization.
The Skiff rose higher.
From above, the sea looked calm.
Then Lirion activated a Technomagik projection.
The water beneath them became transparent.
The city appeared.
Thousands of structures.
Massive roads.
Circular plazas.
Ancient bridges.
Towering buildings.
Collapsed districts.
Huge domes.
The city extended far beyond what the Skiff's scanning system could display.
And everything was underwater.
Bardin whispered:
Bardin: "Thalorin."
Sorion nodded.
Sorion: "The Lost Reaches"
The ancient metropolis had survived.
Not as a living civilization.
But as a drowned world.
Schools of strange fish moved between its towers.
Giant coral structures had grown over ancient statues.
Vines and aquatic plants covered buildings that had once been filled with people.
Some structures still emitted faint Technomagik light.
Others were completely dark.
It was beautiful.
And unsettling.
The city did not look dead.
It looked asleep.
THE DESCENT
Lirion examined the Skiff.
Lirion: "We can't fly through the water."
Dorion looked at him.
Dorion: "You just said that like it's a problem."
Lirion: "Because it is."
Sorion looked toward the submerged city.
Sorion: "Can the Skiff descend?"
Lirion thought for a moment.
Then he smiled.
Lirion: "Maybe."
He returned to the controls.
The Technomagik engine changed frequency.
The Skiff's propulsion field compressed.
Instead of producing lift, the field began pushing against the water.
The vessel lowered.
Slowly.
The hull touched the ocean.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the Skiff sank.
Bardin's eyes widened.
Bardin: "It's working."
The surface passed above them.
Light became darker.
The sounds of the surface disappeared.
The Skiff continued descending.
Lirion activated the external lights.
Blue illumination spread across the water.
Fish scattered.
Strange translucent creatures moved around the hull.
Ancient fragments of stone passed beneath them.
Then the city appeared.
Not on a screen.
Not on a map.
In front of them.
The questors stared in silence.
Thalorin was enormous.
THE CITY BENEATH THE OCEAN
The Skiff entered the upper districts.
Massive buildings rose on both sides.
Their architecture combined ancient stonework with advanced Technomagik engineering.
Circular towers were connected by enormous arches.
Roads extended across the seabed.
Some streets were buried beneath sediment.
Others remained surprisingly clear.
Luminous plants grew between the stones.
Small creatures moved through abandoned buildings.
The deeper they went, the stranger the city became.
They passed statues of people wearing elaborate robes.
They passed enormous gates.
They passed a plaza dominated by a broken monument.
At its center was a woman holding a vessel.
Water appeared to flow from the vessel eternally.
Lirion stopped the Skiff.
Lirion: "That symbol."
Sorion looked at it.
He felt the resonance immediately.
Sorion: "The Siren."
The statue's eyes were closed.
Water streamed from her hands.
The ancient inscription beneath her had survived.
Lirion translated it.
Lirion: "She gives what the dying cannot find."
Bardin looked toward the statue.
Bardin: "The Tears of the Siren."
Lirion nodded.
But there was another inscription beneath it.
He translated slowly.
Lirion: "The tears must never be taken by force."
Dorion frowned.
Dorion: "Why?"
Lirion looked at the statue.
Lirion: "I don't know."
Sorion stared deeper into the city.
Sorion: "We'll find out."
SOMETHING MOVES
The Skiff continued.
The city became darker.
The ancient Technomagik lights became fewer.
Then Sorion sensed something.
He turned.
Nothing.
He looked behind the vessel.
Still nothing.
Sorion: "Stop."
Lirion immediately halted the Skiff.
Lirion: "What?"
Sorion looked into the darkness.
Sorion: "We're not alone."
Dorion reached for his weapon.
Valek prepared himself.
Bardin slowly put down his lute.
A shape moved between two towers.
Too large to be a fish.
Too fast to be a machine.
It disappeared.
Lirion activated the scanners.
Nothing.
Then something struck the Skiff.
BOOM!
The vessel shook.
Bardin fell against the side.
Bardin: "WHAT WAS THAT?"
Another impact.
BOOM!
Lirion struggled to maintain control.
Lirion: "Something hit the hull!"
Dorion looked through the side window.
A massive shadow passed beneath them.
It was enormous.
Long.
Fast.
And covered in luminous markings.
Dorion: "There!"
The creature turned.
For one brief moment, they saw its face.
Then it vanished into the darkness.
Lirion checked the scanner again.
His expression became serious.
Lirion: "I've got a reading."
Valek: "What is it?"
Lirion stared at the data.
Lirion: "Not a creature."
Everyone looked at him.
Lirion: "It's an entire species."
THE GUARDIANS OF THE DEPTHS
More shadows appeared.
One.
Two.
Five.
Then dozens.
The creatures surrounded the Skiff.
They weren't attacking.
They were watching.
Their bodies were enormous and streamlined, adapted to the deep ocean.
Bioluminescent patterns covered their scales.
Some were small.
Others were massive.
And all of them were staring at the ancient vessel.
Bardin whispered:
Bardin: "Friends?"
Dorion shook his head.
Dorion: "Probably not."
Sorion studied them.
He could feel no immediate hostility.
Only recognition.
Sorion: "Wait."
One of the largest creatures approached.
It stopped directly in front of the Skiff.
Its luminous eyes focused on Sorion.
Then it turned.
It began swimming toward the deeper part of the city.
Sorion understood.
Sorion: "It's showing us the way."
Lirion looked at him.
Lirion: "How do you know?"
Sorion: "I don't."
The creature continued.
Sorion: "But I think it wants us to follow."
Lirion activated the engines.
The Skiff moved after it.
The other creatures followed.
The expedition had changed.
They were no longer simply exploring Thalorin.
They were being led through it.
THE DEEPER CITY
The creature guided them beyond the outer districts.
The city became older.
The buildings were larger.
The roads disappeared.
Massive stairways descended into the seabed.
The Skiff followed the creature through an enormous gate.
Beyond it was a valley.
And at the center of that valley stood the largest structure they had seen.
A gigantic circular city complex.
Its towers rose from the seabed like the remains of a crown.
At its center was a deep vertical shaft.
Lirion scanned it.
The scanner immediately overloaded.
Lirion: "That's impossible."
Dorion looked at him.
Dorion: "What?"
Lirion stared at the readings.
Lirion: "There's water flowing upward."
Everyone became silent.
The water inside the shaft was moving against the natural pressure.
It rose from the deepest part of the city.
Then disappeared into the structure above.
Sorion felt the resonance.
Stronger than before.
Sorion: "The Tears."
Lirion nodded.
Lirion: "We're close."
The creature stopped beside the shaft.
It looked toward Sorion one final time.
Then it descended into the darkness.
The other creatures followed.
Within seconds, they disappeared.
The questors remained alone.
THE DOOR BELOW
At the edge of the shaft stood an enormous circular doorway.
Ancient symbols covered its surface.
Lirion scanned it.
Lirion: "This is a sealed chamber."
Dorion stepped forward.
Dorion: "Can you open it?"
Lirion examined the symbols.
Lirion: "Maybe."
Sorion send resonance through the door.
He point his against it.
The entire structure responded.
A silver-violet resonance spread across the ancient markings.
One symbol illuminated.
Then another.
Then another.
The door began opening.
Slowly.
A current of water flowed outward.
But it was not ordinary water.
The moment it touched the Skiff's hull, tiny patches of damaged metal began restoring themselves.
Lirion stared.
Lirion: "That's it."
Sorion looked into the darkness beyond the doorway.
A faint green-blue light glowed below.
Sorion: "The Tears of the Siren."
But before they could enter—
The city moved.
A deep vibration traveled through the entire Thalorin Depths.
Ancient towers awakened.
Lights appeared across the drowned metropolis.
One after another.
Then the enormous gates behind them closed.
Lirion looked at the instruments.
Lirion: "Something just activated."
Dorion drew his weapon.
Dorion: "The city?"
Lirion shook his head.
Lirion: "No."
He looked toward the dark shaft.
Lirion: "Something underneath it."
Sorion stared into the depths.
The ancient presence he had sensed since arriving was no longer distant.
It was awake.
And it was coming closer.
The questors had finally reached the source of the cure.
But they had also awakened something that had been sleeping beneath Thalorin for centuries.
The Tears of the Siren were within reach.
So was the secret behind the fall of the Ocean City.
And now the ancient guardians of the Endless Ocean were watching.
The questors had entered Thalorin.
They had found the city.
They had found the path to the Tears.
But they had not yet discovered the price of taking them.
TO BE CONTINUED...