07-17-2022, 10:13 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-19-2022, 03:43 PM by Frey.)
It was a tired but satisfied mermanta who came to visit the shrine beneath the sea. Muscles ached from the prolonged work they had done, but in the end it had been well worth it. Humans and mer had come together to give the seafolk access to Safrin's healing waters within the Court of Stars and the labor had been done well.
With only one or two minor difficulties along the way. But the important thing was that no one had been hurt.
Safrin, the tunnel is ready. Will you come see it? Hadama's simple prayer was joined by an offering of a black starfish in the shape of a perfectly symmetrical star a little smaller than the palm of his hand. Tiny seed pearls like shimmering white stars had been painstakingly affixed across its surface and a hairclip of flexible whalebone was attached to the back.
Hadama has completed the quest given in [thread=6954] by hosting an 8 round PQ with human Torchers [Melita] and [Maeve] and mermaid (NPC) Yuna!
Not unlike the last time Hadama had come to visit, when Safrin appears to him far beneath the surface of the water, she brings with her the light of the cosmos. [say]Is that for me?[/say] She wonders as her words sparkle brightly into his mind and her lips curl into a starlit smile. [say]It is beautiful.[/say] Safrin adds, stretching out a hand towards the delicate star-shape which she then affixes perfectly into a tangle of her dark hair.
[say]I would love to see what you have accomplished.[/say] The goddess agrees. [say]Will you show me?[/say]
In its most beautiful moments the sea could fill with a million points of living light within the dark, but even that was only an echo of the celestial radiance the goddess brought to the shrine. Hadama floated within the cosmic currents, eyes drawn from watery nebulae to blazing stars brighter than any angler's lure but always returning to the one who was at the heart of glittering galaxy.
He nodded deeply, silently pleased and glowing with a contentment at the praise for his offering. I will, he said simply, an undercurrent of eagerness in his stoic mindvoice, for he was proud of what they had accomplished.
The manta led the way through the ocean and the canals, traveling swiftly to the stretch of water nearest the Court of Stars. A shaft had been dug in the bottom of the canal there; the discarded shells of giant clams had been formed into rings and pressed against the walls to stabilize them, the iridescent nacre facing inwards towards those who passed. They had been tied together with living seaweed that would soon flourish and reinforce the walls further as it took root.
Down he swam, two sinuous bodylengths to the compacted sandstone shelf that provided stability to the land above. Seagrasses had been planted there where the light filtered down to provide a home for the small fish and other animals already beginning to move in to this new biome. The tunnel curved beneath a final, angled ring of clam shells to pass horizontally beneath the Court. Here the ribs of a ghostwhale - the smallest of those killed three years ago in that ill-fated hunt - were planted into the sandstone floor to support the tunnel's rounded shape as they arched up one wall, across the ceiling, and down the other side. Deep water corals that grew without light had been carefully attached to the ribs with mussel glue, partially obscuring them. In time the coral would spread to make a living wall against the collapse of sand and soil from the walls and ceiling.
A little light filtered down from the far side of the tunnel. Here the walls of the vertical exit well had been burned to a thick, dark glass by dragonfire in a strong column that rose to the garden within the Court. Hadama ascended and shifted back to his mer form as he breached the surface. Night-blooming flowers in pots and two lanterns stood near the well, providing safety for night-walkers in the garden and a guiding light for mer coming up from below. Brick that matched the fountain had been laid in an apron around the well itself so saltwater wouldn't damage the plants when a mer pulled themselves far enough out to reach over the fountain's lip for a handful of healing water.
The garden had even been carefully repaired by eager hands so that the scars of the construction project were already healing.
Hadama looked to Safrin, saying nothing while she inspected the work but emerald eyes seeking her reaction to the finished project.
The shells of the clams begin to glow as Hadama and Safrin near; from now until the moment the tunnels collapse, they would continue to do so anytime someone neared or entered the tunnels. The bones of the ghost whale would similarly pulse with starlight so that there would always be light in the depths to guide those seeking the Court above. Would it also serve as a reminder of under whose influence these tunnels had been created?
Perhaps.
Deigning not to leave the water, Safrin instead treads water effortlessly. The things a goddess can see and understand and appreciate in the blink of an eye far outweighs what a mere mortal can, but still, Safrin feels the need to say as much. [say]"I hope you do not take the swiftness of our journey as disinterest on my part."[/say] Turning the full weight of her attention to him now, Safrin smiles with all the splendour of the heavens as she extends a hand towards him. Her fingers are closed, but not unlike certainly anemones, they open elegantly to reveal what's inside.
Softly glowing is a ring of starlight that eventually hardens and cools to the colour of a dusky sunset. [say]"Long have mantas been hunted for their crystals that others might breathe beneath the waves. Gems harvested ethically are harder and harder to come by these days."[/say] She explains. [say]"Given your efforts to diminish the barriers between the merfolk and those who live above land, I thought you might find this useful."[/say]
Hadama has received
StAer Ring | A ring that allows any within 10ft of it to breathe underwater. When in use, the wearer will create subtle constellations in their wake.
The starshine blossomed in gentle benediction, lighting both the shadowed wells and the eternal night of the tunnel itself, and Hadama was warmed by the blessing and the approval it represented.
An apology from a goddess was an unexpected and treasured thing, and he offered a small nod of his head in return as he slid back into the comfortable embrace of the starlit waters. I do not," he assured her. He didn't know what senses the gods had, but it was an assumption of the merman that they far exceeded those of mortal ken.
He reached out slowly towards the hand she offered then, emerald eyes widening in astonishment at the gift. It looked small in his large hand, delicate and lovely, but he could feel the resilient strength in its sunset form when he slipped it onto his finger. Eyes shining with gratitude rose to look on Safrin as he curled his hand over his chest. Thank you, he said quietly.
A gift... and something to think about, if Torchline's goddess was subtly encouraging drylanders to be welcome beneath the waves after so many generations of isolation.
~Fin~
