It was a quiet evening on the ocean, the waves daring not to rock and thrash heavily as they usually did, for fear of offending the Dragon Turtle. It was a huge creature, a creature which could have swallowed ships in its large jaws, and even the water which it swam through parted for it politely.
The gentle humming from the Dragon Turtle’s back added to the melody of the calm ocean waves as dusk fell across the oceanscape. The stranger on the Dragon Turtle’s back lay against a scale, drinking some wine he had accosted from the great warriors of the Iyr.
“What a beautiful evening it is for a brawl,” Strom sang. “What a beautiful evening for a fight. Left. Right. Kill, kill, kill.” He continued to hum his little song, whistling a tune which was carried on the wind, travelling further away even through the water.
‘Just stay quiet,’ Urkina thought, having heard through several iterations of the song, as well as many others as the Lord of Storms lay on her back. ‘Once he arrives within the Black Zone, I can leave.’
The Black Zone.
It was a zone within the Ocean any living creature with any level of intelligence would avoid. It was home to the greatest of the Ocean’s creatures, not including the great Dragon Turtles who held their own zone.
The water soon began to shudder, as darkness began to surround the Dragon Turtle, and emerging from the water around Urkina came dozens of Mermen, each riding on their fish mounts.
“Great Urkina,” called the Captain, who did his best to hide the nervousness which caused his voice to almost tremble. “I am Captain Asvanat, and I kindly ask that you state your business as you swim across the waters of our magnificent Kingdom.”
“I am merely travelling to the Black Zone,” came the response in the watery tongue of the Mermen.
“Your presence has caused a commotion,” Asvanat informed as politely as he could. “May I ask you to travel around the border of our territory?”
“You may ask,” Urkina said, all the while the humming on her back continued, “but I will refuse.”
“May I ask who your companion is?” the Merman Captain asked, trying to remain calm and collected. If Urkina wanted to, she could easily kill half of them while they tried to retreat. They probably could have wounded her, but that would have been far too costly, and would have led to a costly war.
“You may, but he is not of your concern,” Urkina said.
“What’s with the hold up?” Strom asked, his head pulsing, trying not to fry the Mermen around them. “You children should get going.”
The Captain remained quiet. There were a few of his men who were shooting shocked looks, some of them annoyed, and some even angry, but the Captain, with his clear head, understood the situation.
Here was Urkina, who was a great being, one that they needed to pay respects to. She was someone who had ruled the waves above for generations. Yet, atop her back, drinking and singing, showing even Urkina disrespect, was some random guy.
‘No,’ he thought. ‘Not a random guy.’ The Captain cleared his throat. “Very well.” He made a motion with his hand, causing the disgruntled Soldiers to retreat, heading back to their outpost to send a message back to the city.
Strom waved his hand to the Mermen, continuing his humming as Urkina swam forward, approaching the Black Zone. He tossed the bottle up, and destroyed it with his lightning, before opening another to keep drinking.
The ocean around them remained calm for some time, and in the distance, the ocean was still and black. However, as they approached the Black Zone, darkness encompassed the area around them, and they emerged from the ocean.
Standing atop the large serpent, which would have terrified any Sailor if they had not seen the Dragon Turtle, was a beautiful woman. She was nearing her twilight years, but her skin was still a vibrant blue, and her eyes were still full of life, sparkling pink like the freshest of coral. She was adorned in magical scale made out of a myriad of colours, each more vibrant than her eyes, and gripped in her hand was a magical trident, one which held the most delicious scent for Strom.
One he had smelled so long ago.
“Great Urkina, I have hear that you have refused our good graces,” the Queen said, standing tall and proud. Her Queensguard remained nearby, allowing her to deal with Urkina alone, though were ready to pounce if a fight broke out.
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“What need of I of your good graces?” Urkina asked, swallowing a load of water, which caused the Queen’s mount to shudder and struggle against the rushing water. “I am making my way to the Black Zone!”
“I cannot allow a stranger to pass through our borders so freely,” the Queen said, gripping her trident tightly. “I will ask that you leave at once.”
Urkina was about to respond, wanting to send the woman away, when she felt the man on her back shift. Strom, who had been patient the first time the Mermen had come, finished his drink, and tossed it away, lightning falling against the clay bottle, which caused thunder to rumble, and the Queensguard to dart to the surface, each on their own serpents, which were ready to fight.
“You won’t allow me to pass through your borders?” Strom asked. “The last time one of yours stated such a thing…”
Strom’s brow pulsed, and his eyes turned white. He had been trying to resist, but in his inebriated form, he could no longer control his emotions. Strom leapt up, floating towards the sky as lightning shot from his finger tips. It blasted towards the Queen, who brought her trident up to try and defend herself. Her serpent was forced backwards, before the lightning engulfed the creature, causing her to leap off her mount, landing on the surface of the water as she tried to defend herself against the lightning.
“Your Majesty!” shouted the Queensguard, darting up as waves shot them up towards the stranger, who was blasting their Queen with lightning.
“Worthless!” Strom shouted, and from his voice exploded thunder, causing half of the Queensguard to fly backwards towards the turbulent waves, all the while the remaining half slashed with their weapons, from pikes to blades, trying to force the stranger away.
Strom, one hand still dealing with the Queen, roared once more, calling forth lightning from the skies above, all the while the ocean around them began to shudder and quake. Though the Queensguard managed to reach him, raining blows across him, he did not relent, forcing them back.
“Who do you think you are to stop me from passing through these waters?” The thunderous force of his roar blasted an eager Queensguard back. “If it was not for my mercy, you’d still be under the heel of those bastard Leviathans!”
The Queen, who was struggling to keep the lightning at bay, gasped. ‘Lightning and thunder? Riding a great being like a Dragon Turtle with casualness? Saving us from the Leviathans?’
“Fall back!” she shouted, trying to get regain her composure, though the lightning continued to force her back along the ocean’s surface.
“It’s too late for that,” Strom growled, bringing both hands together as he shot out lightning towards the keenest Queensguard, the bolts spreading all across his body. He was the strongest of the Queensguard, and particularly close with the Queen, and yet he was blasted away as though he were a leaf within a typhoon.
The other Queensguard members tried to retreat, though were struck by lightning as they returned back to the ocean, diving as deep as they could in order to defend themselves.
Strom raised his hands up, the dark clouds swirling together as the Queen stared up, watching as the light flashed between the cloud. She spun and drilled into the water, trying to flee as quickly as she could.
“Where are you running to?” Strom shouted, calling forth a slow lightning bolt which trailed towards him. Before he could grab it to turn it into a weapon, a giant shadow formed across him, and something blurred nearby.
He spun as he struck the water’s surface, skipping across it as he was pelted aside by a large tentacle. Urkina retreated backwards, not wishing to seem like a threat to the new figures, who waved their tentacle, and caused the lightning to fall down across the older man, though it did little beyond empowering him.
“You want to use lightning against me?” Strom howled with laughter, lightning falling across him again, wrapping around him and falling to the ocean as he raised up up once, and another tentacle appeared, slamming across his body, causing him to fall into the water, but the lightning continued to gather.
Another set of tentacles appeared from the darkness, but he blasted the next set of tentacles which had appeared, though the lightning was mostly ineffective, as he was pelted through the water, towards another creature in the darkness, who slammed him up out of the ocean.
Strom spun around, before slowing his speed until he was floating once again. His bones cracked as he stretched his body, the blows having bruised him, but he was not too wounded that he’d retreat from the trio who had come to attack him.
“Boy, bring that woman here,” Strom called, lightning falling across him to strength him. He was ready to fight, clenching his fists as he readied to beat the tentacles away. “I’m not interested in bullying a bunch of children.”
Urkina remained far away from the group, not wanting to get involved with the four of them.
‘No,’ came a voice within Strom’s mind.
“Do you think I won’t beat you?” Strom asked, cracking his knuckles as the clouds around them began to shift again, melting together as the trio tried to take command, but none could do so from the Lord of Storms.
‘Mother, dead.’
Strom, held up his arms, readying to drop to fight, but he froze. “Dead?” The clouds above calmed, the rushing waves fell still. The last time they had met, they had fought quite harshly, with Strom blaming her for the loss of his precious daughter. ‘Dead?’
‘Dead?’ Urkina thought. ‘That old beast?’ It was dreadfully frightening to believe she was still alive, and more terrifying to believe she had died.
Strom was certain that she hadn’t held it against him, but this was the greatest revenge of all. How could he have not known she had died. ‘Did you know?’ Strom thought, wondering about one of his last few friends. ‘Is that why there was an Awakened Forest? Is that why Lord of Earth awoke? Is that why a Great Twilight approached?’
Rain fell across the ocean. The Dragon Turtle retreated away. The three Krakens kept an eye on the still figure, before retreating back to their homes within the Black Zone.
“You bitch,” Strom whispered. “How could you do this to me?” The rain pattered against his already wet face.