Yvette stared out over the sea, her heart hammering inside her chest so hard she was certain it might explode. At the very least, she was certain that the leviathan below the waves could hear it.

Far off in the distance she could see the islands that the leviathan guarded. Or rather, the rocks. They stuck out from the sea like great, jagged teeth. Dozens of them, some just above the surface while others towered high into the heavens. She couldn’t begin to imagine why someone would want to go there. There couldn’t be anything of value in such a dangerous, deadly place. Every time she tried to ask, however, Lunia just told her not to worry about it and focus on the task at hand.

Unfortunately, the task at hand seemed to be her likely death, so focusing on that was not the most pleasing idea. She stared at the water below, narrowing her eyes and trying to will herself to see what lurked beneath the waves. A small part of her hoped the leviathan, like the great turtle she had fought before, would glow and reveal itself.

Another part of her hoped it wouldn’t, that the leviathan had already left, deciding this place was not worth making its den any longer. If she saw any sign of it, if she actually knew how large and powerful it was, could she truly force herself to dive into the water and face it?

She suspected the answer to that was a resounding no. Even now, just looking at the water and knowing, somewhere, there was a massive leviathan waiting, made her want to turn around and flee. Jump off the boat and try to swim away to anywhere but here. She knew that was an impossible task, though. She had no idea where she was. Even if she knew where land was, the chances of her being able to get there before her energy ran out was likely impossible. She could keep a form for a few hours, not the days she’d likely require.

So instead she stood and waited, trying desperately to keep her heart calm and stop herself from running back down to the small prison she had resided in to hide under the cot.

“How are you feeling?” Lunia asked from behind her.

“Like I’m going to throw up,” she whispered, her stomach doing another jump. She glanced down at her bracer for what she imagined had to be the hundredth time. All of the reagents she needed were active. All she had to do was jump into the water below and then shift her form once more. Then it would be time for her to die. “You know I’m not able to do this. I’m going to die.”

“You might succeed. There’s always that slim chance,” Lunia said with a small smile, before reaching out to pat her on the back. “Just think about it. If you do succeed, you’ll be one step closer to getting everything you need for your spell.”

“Or one step closer to being torn apart, horribly maimed and slaughtered,” Yvette muttered, shaking her head. “It’s down there, isn’t it?” she asked gently. “You’ve seen it. Right? What are my chances?” she asked, her stomach doing another flip. A small part of her wondered if maybe the sea sickness was coming back, but she knew that wasn’t true. She was terrified, for good reason. There shouldn’t be any way for her to survive fighting this creature.

“Not good, I’m sorry. If there was another way...” Lunia said gently before shaking her head. “I’m sorry.”

“I wish you were sorry enough to not make me do this,” Yvette said before taking a small step towards the edge of the boat. As much as she hated all of this, though, the more it started to almost feel familiar.

Being forced to do something she didn’t want to do, because other people who were stronger or had more power than her demanded she had to, was something that she was all too familiar with. As much as it made her want to scream and yell, to try and escape, once again it just felt hopeless. She’d done everything she could to give herself every possible advantage, but in the end would it really be enough?

She gave a small, soft prayer to the heavens that Gervas would be okay. She’d never been a religious person, but she hoped whatever divinity was out there and looking down on them would help guide him somewhere safe. After all that he had done for her, she couldn’t bear to imagine his life being over because of her mistakes and needs. She lifted a hand over her heart before she glanced back to Lunia. “Wish me luck?”

“Good luck.”

With that, the mage leaped off the side of the boat.

The cold water enveloped her, slapping across her body like a hand made of ice. The shock made her body tingle and, for a moment, she was disoriented and her body spun around in the water, everything spinning in confusing waves. After a few moments she managed to right herself and swim back up to the surface.

The ship was waiting there besides her, towering over her, a beacon in the open seas.

However, it began to slowly drift away, its sails unfurling and beginning to make its way towards the distant rocks. She took one last deep breath of air before she focused on her new form.

Her magic flowed through the bracer, stroking along the scale of the great dragon turtle. Her form began to shift, her magic altering her body inch by inch. Hardening it, making her body shift and contort, widen and thicken. A thick, armor-like shell forming across her back. Her hands and legs shifted into thick, powerful limbs with webbed claws at the end. It took her a few moments to figure out how to breathe once that shifted. She had lungs in this new form, she could feel the ability to inhale air. But she also didn’t feel the need to. Her body was getting oxygen from somewhere else, though she wasn’t sure how. Still, she raised her head once more above the water, taking in a deep breath of air. It felt so different, her lungs not filling or storing it. Instead, it felt as if she was holding it somewhere inside her body, away from the rest of her. She gave a light shudder and shook her head, trying not to think too much on it. She wasn’t going to suffocate, that was all she needed to know.

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Once more she sunk down beneath the water, swimming forward.

Were she human still, she would have gasped. Despite being many times larger than her bear form, there seemed to be no resistance from the water against her. She tore through it with ease, her body moving with precision through the water. Even more amazing was her sight. She could see all around her through the murky water. While from the boat the water had seemed so dark and empty, now she could see that it was full of life. Fish were swimming in all directions, small schools of them moving in unison.

More surprisingly, she could make out the color. While many of her forms that could see in the dark seemed to see things in black and white, this form seemed entirely capable of seeing through the darkness in full color, everything shimmering in a wide spectrum of colors she’d never even seen before. It felt almost like she was seeing a brand new world.

She wished she could show Gervas this. She wondered how many people had taken such a form. How many who were even still alive. She wondered if she was the first person in centuries to have been able to see the world the same way a dragon turtle did.

She shook her head once more, trying to clear the excitement and wonder from her head. She had a job to do. Gervas was depending on her. Up above she could see the ship heading towards the rocks off on the horizon, so far away. She wondered how long until the leviathan would make its appearance. Quickly, she began to swim towards the vessel and, to her surprise, within moments she passed it.

Yvette felt a sudden cold chill go down her back when she looked around, though she still couldn’t see any sign of the great leviathan that she had been warned about. If it was so massive, she imagined it would have had to show itself by now. But she didn’t see any sign of it. She felt a small, giddy glee at the idea that it had, in fact, left. Abandoned the rocks. Perhaps having found something--

She froze in place, whipping her head to the right. She stared through the water, but didn’t see anything. She swore she had seen something moving. A small glint, a movement. But she didn’t see anything in that direction, not even schools of fish. She shook her head and continued towards the rocks.

Yvette would have yelped if she could. Suddenly a powerful current struck her, sending her spinning in a confusing spiral. She quickly steadied herself, scanning the area. But there was nothing there. No current, no sign of what had caused it. Were she human, her heart would have been pounding and she would have been sweating profusely. As it was, her new form didn’t seem to have any effects from her rising fear.

Still, she had no choice. She continued on, swimming towards the rocks. Up above she could see the ship, quickly making its way through the water. She began to lower herself, diving deeper, scanning the waters for any sign of the leviathan. It--

The ship was gone. She craned her head up, but it was gone.

Then a moment later, the water was clear again and the ship was there. Her eyes widened and she wished she could scream. That she could let her fresh horror out in some manner. She looked around and realized that there was movement. Packs of fish were disappearing, only to reappear after a few moments. There was something out here, something she couldn’t see. Circling her. Measuring her. It blended in with the water perfectly, but when it moved and displaced the water, whatever was behind it seemed to disappear.

She felt another current from her right this time. She wished that the sea was fuller, that there were more things that would be blocked from sight. Unfortunately, her wishes were unheeded. Instead, the thing continued to disappear entirely when there was nothing to see behind it. It could come from anywhere, anytime. It was only thanks to the astounding vision of the dragon turtle that she could even see it.

How in the world had Lunia been able to find it?

A moment later she mentally scolded herself. One of those basic water spells. Sensing through water, allowing her to feel what was there by how the water was being moved, not by vision. Such a simple spell. If she could cast it, she’d know exactly where the monster was.

But there was no way she could turn back into a human, cast it, then turn back quickly enough if the creature struck. Fortunately, it did seem that whatever that thing was, it WAS circling her. It seemed far more interested in her than it did the ship, so her task was complete. Now she just needed to not die.

She watched and waited, turning her head slightly so she could see behind her a little. A small school of fish were off behind her and to the right. She waited until they seemed to vanish.

Then she took off like a bolt of lightning, her claws tearing through the water when she dived almost straight down.

She felt the currents of the water shift, but she didn’t dare turn back. While she couldn’t know if the creature was following her, the way the water was now pounding on her back made her suspect it was.

Soon even the dragon turtle’s vision turned dark and gloomy, so little light penetrating the depths that she could only make out little, dark shadows. She could feel the pressure of the water pushing in on her with every movement she made closer to the floor of the sea.

She’d heard about this from her mentor. Some forms couldn’t survive going beyond certain depths. That if she turned into those that could, she had to be certain not to turn back into human. That she’d be crushed by the sheer pressure. Apparently more than a few novice mages had met such fates.

Fortunately, the dragon turtle form didn’t seem at all harmed by the pressure. While she could feel it pressing in on her, it was, at most, a mild pressure. As if she was wrapped in a blanket very loosely.

Finally, she caught sight of what looked like a great wall in the distance. It took her a moment to realize that it was the sea floor. She felt a small sense of relief wash over her. However big the thing behind her was, she could outmaneuver it if she was--

The thoughts were knocked from her head when something struck her back. She was sent hurtling through the water, spinning wildly, her back now aching. While her shell hadn’t cracked, she could still feel pain throughout her body. She tried to steady herself, to regain her positioning.

A second blow struck her, sending her floundering in the other direction. Then a third. A fourth. Yvette pulled her head and limbs into her shell, but it did little, something striking her again and again, knocking her around as if she was a small toy.

Each blow sent her body flying back and forth, making her head ring from the repeated blows. They refused to let up, slamming her over and over before, finally, she hit something so hard she swore she felt her entire body rattle and pain shoot through her. Even though the hits had stopped, her head couldn’t focus and she felt the world spinning wildly around herself. Were she human, she was sure she would have thrown up. As it was, she could feel her mind beginning to fade. She struggled against the darkness that tried to envelop her, pushing her magic out and trying desperately to keep her form stable.

Then one last, final blow struck her and the world disappeared.