“You ready?” Petor asked Desari out the corner of his mouth. They stood at the edge of what had been the dock. It was gathering a crowd and they were staring. Most of them were just heads in the harbor. Many of the people on the ships yelling at them as they moved the light stuff from the ships to the shore.

She looked at him beside her. “Lets show them what we can do.”

Petor grinned and tapped his foot on the coral as if to wake it up.

Emerald flames traced through his mana channels along his hands, his eyes alight with his power. Desari’s own amethyst power ran through her as she pulled her spell book from her hip and flipped through the pages.

Petor reached into the coral beneath him, felt it come to his attention, spreading out underneath him, down below. He touched part of the gigantic entity they stood upon, spanning tens of kilometers outward and down.

It was filled with life, vibrant, excited and encompassing. Petor drew back his attention and focused on the coral around him, each plant was different, though he could sense the way it talked to him, his concepts, his knowledge filtered through channel and node to touch upon the world.

Desari snapped her fingers, the noise filled the world as the water stopped. It was jarring in its manner, water never stopped moving and shifting, but now where the remains of the dock lay it was like a solid object, the water around it didn’t move it in any way.

Ships slowed their progress as the book floated under Desari’s hands. Wood creaked and groaned, coming apart as the water shifted the remains around into a lattice.

Petor pushed the coral forward, it grew up to the wood, thin tendrils that wrapped around it, entombing it and spreading between the openings. The tendrils thickened, connecting dock to island completely.

Wood shifted itself into form and was dragged out by the water. Coral held it firm. First to hold it to the coral, then to reinforce the members. Compressed coral went over top to deal with the traffic that would move upon it.

Four carriages could move down it comfortably.

Petor felt the Coral waning at the massive construct. He drew from the sides of the inlet, tendrils shooting through the water to hold onto the bridge.

He was drawing in mana from the air already. He’d need a core or potion soon.

Desari slapped her hands together, kneeling to press them to the ground.

Purple ran through her hands into the coral in a wave, rushing towards the dock.

Petor sucked in a breath. Her spell rejuvenating and replenishing the coral’s nutrients, easing the burden on his mana to make up for the loss.

It was an orchestra, making the coral harder along the dock, adding in coverings that would run down it each absorbing the sun’s light while keeping the workers cooler.

Petor drew them up through the coral and ran them back up to the town.

Desari stood, her eyes fading back to Normal.

Petor reached into the ground, a template in his mind. Coral grew upwards, creating floors and walls. Twin three story towers lay on either side of the inlet watching over the dock.

Petor released his power and slumped.

“Didn’t think you had the juice for that,” Desari said.

“I created the structural supports and the framework, with time the coral will fill in the rest and make it stronger. Added one to the dock as well. As time passes it will spread out creating a network of docks.” Petor drew in the mana from the air around him. “Just take me a bit more time to get it all back.”

“Not bad for a day’s work,” Desari said as she walked down towards the dock.

People were out of the water, moving to check it out as well. The inlet was filled with people now.

Mesurial was shifting, turning to dock, her ropes running out of her sides as they lashed to the pilons and drew itself to its new port.

The cranes started to operate, lowering goods down to the newly formed-grown dock.

“Give us a hand and start unloading will yah?” Mya yelled from the ship’s railing.

“One minute you’re making an awesome dock out of magic and coral. Next you’re unloading fire spitting guns from netting,” Petor muttered to Desari.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Keeps things interesting.”

Petor snorted. “That it does.”

***

Ikosari looked up from the tablets across her desk, the glowing coral of the room fighting back the darkness of the depths.

The bell at her door rang again.

She put what she had been studying to the side, needle work was far from her hand since the loss of the conch.

“Enter,” she called out, a new hardness to it.

The door slatted and pushed open, a functionary swimming through and closing it quickly before they rushed across the space to where Ikosari floated with her desk around her.

He clasped his hands in greeting and submission.

“What is it?”

“The ship, the Mesurial it has been spotted!”

Ikosari’s gaze sharpened, that ship had changed their fates, ripped apart their very city!

“Go on.” She said, holding herself back even as she wanted to shake the man for every piece of information.

“They delivered weapons to Lady Delmara, arrived yesterday and departed before the sun had set. They had passed through the singing shoals. Captain Seastrider had a band of five ships there.”

“Has there been word from him since?”

“No.”

“So dead or running,” Ikosari said.

The functionary looked like he wanted to say something but kept his mouth shut.

“He has been good in bringing us our required supplies.” Ikosari had to steel her heart for what her father needed in the beginning, now it had become so easy to talk about the lives of others as if it was currency. “So the ship came from Anvil Spike. No wonder we have been unable to find them.”

“Yes my mistress,” The man said.

“How many among the crew?”

“Only four were reported.”

“Find out where they are and get me a list of pirates that would be able to go after them.” Ikosari moved from her chair, her brother and father would need to learn of this.

“Yes mistress.” The man clasped his hands and swam from the room quickly. Ikosari followed him.

He opened the door and held it as she swam through. Guards moved in around her as she went for the current shafts.

The push within them added barely more speed than her own swimming. The remaining rotating fins picking up little current in their new home.

The elementals had left as the politics had grown. Then things had gone bad and quickly. Underwater beasts they couldn’t suppress with the conch attacked. They cracked the city open to feast on the residents within.

Parts had been torn off. The houses looked to defend them and their own. Ikosari put to use the fighting skills she’d been trained in being her father’s daughter—never thinking she might need them.

Mismanagement caused the city to break up into sections. She looked through the current tubes, out of her ancestral home to the parts of the city stuck to it.

They had moored what remained of their homes to great pillars of stone that jutted out of the surface. Coral grew out of the cities, affixing themselves as they repaired themselves.

She glanced at the glow coming from below, a chill ran through her at that glow, the seal. A circle near four hundred meters across.

She drew her eyes away and continued downwards to her brother and father’s new offices. Gliding out of the current shafts her brother’s guards checked her with spells before letting her and her people through. Security had rapidly increased with the infighting and remained tight ever since.

Her guards drifted to a stop as she reached the doors to her brothers offices. One of his attendants hit a bell announcing her entrance. Another held the door, waiting for the command.

“Open!” Her brother said after a few seconds.

The attendant opened the door, she looked through the slats, her brother rubbing his face as he blinked his tired eyes. He’d aged years in weeks.

Ikosari darted through the door which rapidly closed behind her, the slats locking back into a solid panel.

“What is it?” Ikosari asked, wrung out and tired, none of the light chatter they might have had before.

“The Mesurial its been spotted.”

He blinked searching for the name in his memory. “The ones who got the conch?”

“Yes. They were spotted in Coral Bastion. They made delivery on the weapons Lady Delmara has been trying to get. Five ships went out to intercept but they haven’t been heard from. Only four crew as before.”

“Get as much information on them as possible, send out the pirates to kill them. Put a bounty on them.”

“Wouldn’t father want to know?” Ikosari asked. Ever since her father returned from inspecting the seal he’d moved his offices to the bottom of the household and refused all visitors, turning administration over to Indross and Ikosari.

His one demand, people. To save their own people Ikosari had turned to the pirates above them. Bringing them a steady stream of people that entered her father’s workshops and failed to return.

“He is not to be disturbed,” Indross growled, his expression darkening. “Nothing is to stop his work.” She could see his own frustrations fuelling his anger.

Ikosari quickly straightened up.

“I understand. Though if we can get the conch we will be able to return stability. We can bring the houses back together.”

Indross’ expression softened as he looked away, avoiding her eyes.

He doesn’t think its possible anymore. Ikosari felt the weight she kept pushing from her mind upon her shoulders. All those people, dealing with pirates? Stealing the conch to try and shift politics in their direction only for it to fall apart.

She drove such thoughts from her head. They had found a new place to start, they’d saved their people. They were rebuilding. They’d get back the conch, they’d learn the secrets of the seal below them and use the pirates above to become stronger than before.

She’d make her father and brother proud. They’d come out stronger than before.

“I will pass on what you have learned to father but he is at a critical stage in his research.” Indross still didn’t meet her eyes. The way he looked off to the side, the hollowness of his words and gaze, it ran a chill through Ikosari.

He turned back, animated once more. “Thank you for all you have been doing sister. I know that this is not what you have expected. Though we will do the Yakal family name proud.”

“Yes brother,” Ikosari turned to leave, pausing. “Try to get some rest.”

“Rest is for the dead right?” Her brother laughed, though there was a catching edge to it.

She continued on her way to the door.

“Maybe Mesurial will distract him?” Indross’ voice was barely a burble, a hurt hope. He raised his voice. “Ikosari. We’ll need more, deliveries.”

Ikosari steeled herself. “Yes brother.”

Her father needed more people for his work. They’re surface dwellers, those that left the water behind. They’re not like us at all.