Chapter Three: Under the Sea (Rak-Li)

Even hundreds of feet down below the water, the early morning sunlight shone just beyond the mouth of the cavern I had sheltered in for the night. Carefully I crept to the ledge and checked if anything was looking for a meal. Crystal blue water was all that filled my vision; luckily there was nothing out here beyond a few small fish. Swimming out into the blue, I continued my journey to discover new waters and lands for my people. 

I must've traveled over half the globe by now. The map of our kingdom had been carved in stone and set quite some time ago. For the longest time I had pondered why no one had considered the changes in the lands since its creation and updated the map, but it seemed that the skill had dwindled, and dare I say died out quite some time ago. My people were perfectly content to stay where they were within the safety of our reefs. It was warm there, and we never ran out of food. Thus, it fell on the shoulders of a few of us - myself included - to venture outside our home.

The maps were made from bedrock tablets, and I've been adding to it as best I could. But there was no way I could perfectly gauge where I was, at least that I knew of. 

I rose to the surface. Behind me, the sun hung low in the sky, setting the horizon ablaze with crimson, gold and pink. But in front of me, still several miles in the distance, I saw some small islands off where the sun had yet to touch. In the sky were several large flying creatures heading north, away from the islands. They were incredibly large, almost if not larger than the people of my homewaters. 

I was fascinated by them, watching all the way until they were small dots in the sky. 

What could they possibly be? My how this world never ceases to surprise me. It almost seemed like they were flying psari, but how could beings adapted to live mainly in water somehow grow wings and fly? 

Could it be that these flying psari had received the gift from the mysterious glowing woman as well?  

I thought back to that day.

It was several weeks ago while I was swimming through the frigid seas of the south. It was the dead of night, but I didn’t want to stop as the further I swam, the warmer the water grew. And I refused to sleep another night in those horrid conditions. As the water finally became not entirely uncomfortable to sleep in, I eased up and floated there for a moment, catching my breath. 

Alone in the dark waters I rested my eyes for just a moment, and right then, something made of pure light shot down from the sky into the water and right in front of me. I shielded my eyes that had been staring at near-constant darkness for hours. 

Once the light had begun to die down, I took my hands away from my eyes, a woman with hair much ten times larger than herself and every color you could imagine floating effortlessly before me. She looked at me and somehow projected her voice into my mind. 

“Rak-li. Lone prince of the psari. You have the potential to help stop a threat who wants to turn this world into a frozen wasteland with nothing left but themselves.” 

How could anything freeze the entire planet? The amount of power alone that would take left me breathless. Furthermore, how am I going to stop something with such power? 

“You need not worry, young prince. Soon you will meet others who will aid you in your journey, and I will grant you a power able to contend with their might.” 

Before I could even form a thought, her eyes glowed and it felt as if she pierced my very soul. Water swirled around me like a vortex, spinning me until the contents of my stomach churned, about to spring from my gills. I couldn’t see anything through the bubbles and the rush.
But once the vortex finally began to slow, she was gone. It was dark once again. I don't know what she did, because I didn’t really feel any different. I had so many questions, but it seems like I wouldn’t be getting any answers. 

It didn’t really matter right now, I was tired and wanted to get some sleep. Finding a nearby underwater cavern, I passed out, the thought of getting back out and traveling again the last thing I thought of as I drifted to sleep. 

I looked down towards my chest below the water, a small wave tattoo being clearly visible. This was the manifestation of the power given to me by the woman, the ability to control the sea itself. But as far as I’ve tried, I'm only able to summon small waves. Although I am much swifter in the water than I used to be. I’m still getting used to that. 

Before I could even comprehend the black mass below me I was launched many feet in the air. Frantically I flailed as I fell back into the sea, a great ways away from the creature. 

What was that?!

As I regained my bearings, I saw a large black mass coming up from the dark of the deep sea. I turned around and darted away as fast as I could. My heart was pounding. 

I turned my head back towards it - it was in hot pursuit. It had decided I would be lunch.

I propelled myself faster and faster, defying my own comprehension for how fast one person could even move. Everything was going by in a blur. No matter how hard I swam, this thing continued to persue me. Closer and closer it grew, nearly right on my heels. Quickly I darted to the surface- the force of which launched me out of the water once more. 

Ahead of me was a small raft, a psari with tanned skin and what I could only guess was strange dark fins stared back at me, an absolutely panicked look on his face. 

My own expression mirrored his own - I was coming down fast, right onto his boat.